Bitcoin Slumps to Near $94K as Asia Traders Ponder Over Trump's Trade War

BTC, ETH, SOL all slide as the market digests the impact of the possibility of a global trade war.

Updated Feb 3, 2025, 8:53 a.m. UTCPublished Feb 3, 2025, 2:13 a.m. UTC

Major digital assets including bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH), Solana's SOL, and XRP were all significantly down as Asia began its trading week. By mid-morning Hong Kong time, BTC was down 8%, trading above $93,100, according to CoinDesk Indices data.

By afternoon Hong Kong time, BTC appeared to stabilize near $93.9K.

Meanwhile, ether (ETH) is down nearly 20%, trading below $2,500, while SOL is down 7% at $193. XRP is down 23% and trading at $2.

The CoinDesk 20 (CD20), an index of the largest digital assets, is down nearly 17%. Trump's memecoin (TRUMP) is down 12%.

World Liberty Financial (WLFI), the crypto project backed by Donald Trump's family, was also hit by market volatility with its January crypto investments down 20% according to data compiled by SpotOnChain.

Data from CoinGlass shows that over the last 12 hours nearly $1.3 billion in long positions have been liquidated, with around $400 million in long ether positions and $300 million in long BTC positions.

The market correction stems from a trade war that has seemingly been ignited by U.S. President Donald Trump with 25% tariffs being placed on Canada and Mexico.

Many market observers are skeptical about the benefits of tariffs, with a Wall Street Journal editorial board op-ed calling it the "Dumbest Trade War in History" over the weekend.

Brussels said that the European Union would respond firmly to any tariffs imposed on its member states.

“Tariffs create unnecessary economic disruption and drive inflation. They are hurtful to all sides,” Politico quoted a spokesperson as saying.

The U.K. seems to be the only nation that's able to get a reprieve from tariffs, with Trump saying a deal can be "worked out" according to the BBC.