America First, Crypto Later: Ether, XRP, DOGE Plunge 20% amid Trump’s Tariffs

The cryptocurrency market is witnessing a bloodbath. Most coins have lost their value by double digits in the last 24 hours due to US President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canada and Mexico.

A Bloodbath

Although Bitcoin only lost about 6.5 per cent of its value, dropping to $93,600, the situation is grave for altcoins. Ethereum lost over 20 per cent and is now trading below $2,500. XRP, which has seen tremendous gains recently, is now down by over 22.1 per cent.

Crypto market now pic.twitter.com/8U8VF3VdCF

The rising popularity of memecoins could not save them. Dogecoin, boosted by President Trump’s aide and billionaire Elon Musk, is also down by about 23 per cent. Pepe, another meme coin, dropped by almost 26 per cent.

It is one of the steepest dives in the cryptocurrency market in recent years. The total liquidations in the crypto market crossed $2.2 billion in the last 24 hours.

The futures market wiped out over $600 million in the past 24 hours, specifically in the early Asian hours. CoinDesk pointed out that positions in XRP and DOGE cumulatively lost $150 million, while other derivatives tracking the price of altcoins lost $138 million. Further, Ether-based futures lost $84 million.

JUST IN: Over $188 billion was wiped out from the crypto market in the past 24 hours. pic.twitter.com/Vzhp1w8cg2

Trump-Triggered Selloff

The bloodbath was triggered by Donald Trump’s executive order imposing steep tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico, two neighboring countries, last Saturday. He also imposed tariffs on imports from China.

Although Trump argues that the tariffs will protect American interests, his actions will likely trigger a global trade war. Mexico has already imposed retaliatory tariffs targeting American-made steel, bourbon, and dairy products. Starting Tuesday, Canada will also impose a 25 per cent tariff on $30 billion worth of American imports.

Interestingly, Trump’s victory as the 47th US President significantly pushed cryptocurrency prices higher. He also promised to bring in pro-crypto regulations and has even created a working group to explore American crypto policies.