BTC, XRP, ADA News: Bitcoin Nears $81K; Ripple Slides as U.S. Tariffs Loom Ahead

03/31/2025 11:59
BTC, XRP, ADA News: Bitcoin Nears $81K; Ripple Slides as U.S. Tariffs Loom Ahead

Bitcoin Nears $81K; XRP, ADA Slide as Traders Brace For Tariff War Ahead

Updated Mar 31, 2025, 4:58 a.m. UTCPublished Mar 31, 2025, 4:51 a.m. UTC

What to know:

  • Bitcoin value dropped to just over $81,500 in Asian morning hours Monday, with major tokens like XRP, Cardano’s ADA, Solana’s SOL, dogecoin (DOGE), and ether (ETH) also experiencing losses.
  • Stock markets opened lower for the fourth consecutive day due to global anticipation of President Donald Trump's upcoming announcement of new tariffs, set to be revealed on April 2.
  • Safe-haven assets like gold reached an all-time high, and U.S. Treasury yields dropped due to increased demand, as portfolio managers globally adopt cautious strategies in light of potential economic fallout from the impending tariffs.

Bitcoin (BTC) traders just over $81,500 in Asian morning hours Monday as a weekend slide saw major tokens lose momentum on last week’s brief rally.

XRP and Cardano’s ADA led losses among majors with a 5% drop in the past 24 hours, with Solana’s SOL, dogecoin (DOGE) and ether (ETH) down between 2-3%.

The CoinDesk 20, a measure of the performance of the largest digital assets, is down 2.6%

(CoinDesk 20 Index)

(CoinDesk 20 Index)

Stock markets opened lower Monday, their fourth consecutive day of decline, as investors around the globe brace for President Donald Trump's upcoming announcement of new tariffs, set to be revealed on April 2, amid growing fears of a global trade war's economic fallout.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was down 1..7% in the morning session, while the Nikkei 225 was down 3.8%, and Korea's KOPSI index in the red by 3% as export-heavy economies worry about market access to the U.S.

Futures for U.S. and European stock indexes also fell. In contrast, safe-haven assets like gold reached an all-time high, and U.S. Treasury yields dropped due to increased demand.

Globally, portfolio managers are adopting cautious strategies, either reducing risk or avoiding large investments, unsettled by the impending "reciprocal tariffs" and their potential economic toll.

Shaurya Malwa

Shaurya is the Co-Leader of the CoinDesk tokens and data team in Asia with a focus on crypto derivatives, DeFi, market microstructure, and protocol analysis. Shaurya holds over $1,000 in BTC, ETH, SOL, AVAX, SUSHI, CRV, NEAR, YFI, YFII, SHIB, DOGE, USDT, USDC, BNB, MANA, MLN, LINK, XMR, ALGO, VET, CAKE, AAVE, COMP, ROOK, TRX, SNX, RUNE, FTM, ZIL, KSM, ENJ, CKB, JOE, GHST, PERP, BTRFLY, OHM, BANANA, ROME, BURGER, SPIRIT, and ORCA. He provides over $1,000 to liquidity pools on Compound, Curve, SushiSwap, PancakeSwap, BurgerSwap, Orca, AnySwap, SpiritSwap, Rook Protocol, Yearn Finance, Synthetix, Harvest, Redacted Cartel, OlympusDAO, Rome, Trader Joe, and SUN.

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Shaurya Malwa

Sam Reynolds

Sam Reynolds is a senior reporter based in Asia. Sam was part of the CoinDesk team that won the 2023 Gerald Loeb award in the breaking news category for coverage of FTX's collapse. Prior to CoinDesk, he was a reporter with Blockworks and a semiconductor analyst with IDC.

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Sam Reynolds

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