Trump's 15% Tariff Bomb Crashes Bitcoin Below $65K — What's Really Happening

The crypto market just got body-slammed by macro reality.

Yesterday, President Trump dropped a tariff bomb: 15% global tariffs. Bitcoin responded by cratering from $67,600 to $64,700 in under two hours. That's a 5% drop in the blink of an eye.

Let's cut through the noise and look at what's actually happening.

The Damage Report

• Bitcoin: Down 5% intraday, now hovering around $64,800
• $240 million in long liquidations triggered
• $1.93 billion in weekly realized losses — the largest spike since 2022
• Fear & Greed Index: Sitting at 8. Extreme fear territory
• Ethereum: Down 6% to ~$1,860, underperforming BTC

This Isn't Just About Tariffs

Yes, Trump's tariff announcement was the spark. But the powder keg was already sitting there.

Here's what the permabulls aren't telling you:

• Bitcoin is down 47% from its October high of $125,000 — that's a near-halving in four months
• ETF inflows have reversed — institutions are pulling hundreds of millions out
• Leverage is still elevated — open interest remains high, meaning more liquidations are coming if we break lower
• The "digital gold" narrative is dying — spot gold is up while Bitcoin dumps. So much for the hedge thesis

The Iran Wildcard

Markets are also pricing in geopolitical risk. Trump signaled he'll decide within 10 days whether to launch strikes against Iran. The US military buildup in the Middle East is massive.

As Jeff Mei from BTSE put it: "Investors are concerned that the build-up of U.S. military forces around Iran raises the possibility of an armed conflict that could spread regionally and impact global trade flows."

What Comes Next

Markus Thielen from 10x Research is calling for $50,000 Bitcoin before a durable bottom forms. He's pointing to weak liquidity, low conviction, and the typical bear-market behavior around US midterm elections.

Key levels to watch:

• $64,000-65,000: Current battleground. If this breaks, things get ugly fast
• $63,119: The February 5th low. Below this, we're in price discovery mode
• $2.17 trillion: Total crypto market cap yearly low. Break this and we're heading to $2T

The Bottom Line

This isn't your standard crypto volatility. This is macro-driven deleveraging in a market that's already been bleeding for four months straight.

The tariff news was the catalyst, not the cause. The cause is simpler: too much leverage, too much optimism, and a market that forgot that risk assets don't go up forever.

Gold is rallying. Crypto is crashing. That tells you everything you need to know about where risk sentiment sits right now.

Trade careful out there. This one's going to leave marks.