Bitcoin and major altcoins tumbled late Thursday as concerns about the the re-escalating trade war, slowing U.S. economic indicators, and a brewing feud between U.S. President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk trumped euphoria over Circle’s smash debut as a publicly traded company.
The largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization was recently trading at about $100,825, down nearly 4% during the past 24 hours, according to crypto market data provider CoinGecko. Bitcoin, which last sank below $101,000 nearly a month ago, has fallen more than 9% over the past two weeks.
“Crypto markets are pulling back today alongside a broader risk-off tone,” BitBull Capital CEO Joe DiPasquale told Decrypt. “Despite Circle’s debut, which you might expect to lift sentiment, investors seem more focused on sticky macro headwinds—the trade tensions, slowing jobs data, and ISM softness all weigh on risk appetite.”
DiPasquale added: “BTC is still in a healthy range, technically, but altcoins like SOL and XRP are showing more volatility as liquidity thins out. Overall, sentiment feels cautious, not panicked—more like digestion than fear.”
The declines added to the crypto market’s recent slugglishness as investors fret over multiple macroeconomic uncertainties, including the fraying of the once-cozy relationship between Trump and Musk, who pumped about $280 million into Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign.
On Wednesday, Trump fulfilled a recent promise to raise tariffs on steel and aluminum, even as employment and productivity readings suggested that the economy was headed downward, and tensions rose in the Ukraine war and Middle East.
Dogecoin, a Musk favorite, recently plunged nearly 9.3% from Wednesday at the same time, hitting its lowest level since May 7. Musk has harshly criticized Trump’s budget proposal in recent days, prompting the president on Thursday to threaten to cancel the entrepreneur’s government contracts. Musk’s past activities and utterances have frequently sent DOGE gyrating.
The token of the Solana blockchain and XRP recently declined 7.7% and 5.6%, respectively, hitting their lowest levels in almost a month.
Stocks closed in negative territory, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq and S&P 500 both off more than a half-percentage point—although payment services provider and stablecoin issuer Circle drew so much interest in its opening on the public stage that the NYSE halted trading three times in an hour. Circle’s share price finished the day at $83.23, far surpassing its $31 IPO price.
BitBull’s DiPasquale “expects choppy conditions to continue in the near-term.”
“Until there’s more clarity on U.S. trade policy or a major catalyst—like a rate cut or fresh ETF inflows—crypto may remain range-bound,” he wrote, although he noted optimistically that Bitcoin’s long-term prospects remain “relatively strong.”
“Any dips toward $100K are likely to find buyers,” he wrote. “But for alts, expect continued rotation and uneven performance as investors stay selective.”
Edited by Andrew Hayward
