Trump tariffs trigger 50% drop in memecoin prices
Trump tariffs erase $1 trillion from crypto market.
A new research report shows that President Donald Trump’s latest tariffs have rattled global financial markets, with crypto suffering sharp losses.
According to the April 7 report, the total crypto market capitalization has dropped 25.9% from its January highs, wiping out over $1 trillion in value, reports Binance Research.
High-risk segments such as meme coins and AI-linked tokens have plunged by more than 50%, significantly underperforming more established assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Since the tariffs were announced, Bitcoin has declined 19.1%, while Ethereum is down over 40%. In the 24 hours following the enactment of tariffs on April 2, BTC fell 5.47%, dropping below $75,000. ETH led the decline at 9.57%, with meme tokens down 7.31%. The Binance report suggests the evolving trade war and the potential for stagflation in the U.S. are fueling market-wide de-risking, impacting both digital and traditional asset classes.
Bitcoin’s Haven Status Under Scrutiny Amid Volatility
One of the most striking findings in the report is the shifting correlation between crypto and traditional markets. Bitcoin’s 30-day correlation with equities rose to 0.47 in March, up from a negative correlation of –0.32 in February, indicating increasing synchronization during periods of global uncertainty. Conversely, BTC’s correlation with gold has turned negative, reaching –0.22 in early April.
Binance researchers caution that while Bitcoin is often positioned as a hedge against economic instability, its recent performance suggests it cannot yet be considered a reliable safe haven. With fears of recession rising and the Federal Reserve potentially eyeing rate cuts to offset inflationary pressures stemming from the tariffs, crypto markets may remain highly reactive to broader macroeconomic developments.
The report concludes that crypto’s short-term trajectory is likely to be shaped by a combination of macroeconomic triggers—such as inflation data, interest rate policy, and global growth signals—and crypto-native developments, including ETF approvals and regulatory shifts. In the wake of the most aggressive U.S. tariffs since the 1930s, investor sentiment remains fragile and market resilience uncertain.
Recently we wrote, that escalating trade tensions between the United States and China are sending shockwaves through global markets, with Bitcoin emerging as a potential refuge for Chinese capital.
