Trump Tariffs Spark $800M Crypto ETF Rout: Can The Macro Narrative Shift?
Impact of U.S. Tariffs on Crypto ETFs: Following the announcement of new tariffs by President Trump, major cryptocurrency ETFs experienced significant sell-offs, with Bitcoin and Ethereum prices dropping sharply and over $800 million liquidated in just 24 hours.
Future Outlook for Crypto ETFs: Despite current volatility and macroeconomic pressures, analysts remain optimistic about the long-term potential of crypto ETFs, suggesting that regulatory clarity and institutional interest could lead to renewed investor confidence once market conditions stabilize.
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Zhao's Ranking and Wealth: In 2026, Zhao was ranked as the richest person, surpassing notable figures like Michael Bloomberg and Bill Gates, with a net worth of $110 billion, despite questioning the accuracy of the ranking due to a significant drop in cryptocurrency prices.
Binance CEO Transition: Zhao stepped down as CEO of Binance in 2023 following a settlement with U.S. authorities related to money laundering charges, and he received a presidential pardon in 2025.
Cryptocurrency Market Trends: Bitcoin's price has fallen nearly 45% from its peak in October 2023, trading around $69,500, while retail sentiment around Bitcoin has shifted to neutral.
Zhao's Holdings and Influence: Zhao, who co-founded Binance in 2017, holds a 90% stake in the exchange and has significant on-chain cryptocurrency holdings valued at approximately $1.06 billion, including a large amount of BNB tokens.

Bitcoin Price Movement: Bitcoin has slightly decreased in value, struggling to maintain above the $70,000 mark after reaching an intraday high of around $71,600, with its price currently around $69,500.
Overall Cryptocurrency Market: The total cryptocurrency market cap remains stable at approximately $2.44 trillion, with around $250 million in crypto bets liquidated in the last 24 hours, indicating a near-even split between long and short positions.
Market Sentiment: Retail sentiment around Bitcoin has shifted to 'neutral' from 'bullish', reflecting user frustration over its inability to hold above the $70,000 level, while Dogecoin has seen a 1.4% increase, leading gains among major cryptocurrencies.
Ethereum Performance: Ethereum has experienced a slight decline of 0.3% but remains above the $2,000 level, with retail sentiment also deteriorating to 'bearish' from 'neutral' over the past day, mirroring trends seen in Bitcoin and Dogecoin.

Tornado Cash Case Update: Roman Storm, co-founder of Tornado Cash, is set for a retrial after a previous jury could not reach a unanimous verdict on key charges, including money laundering and violations of U.S. sanctions law.
Defense Arguments: Storm's defense maintains that he only wrote open-source code and did not control how third parties used the Tornado Cash protocol, emphasizing the importance of privacy tools in the cryptocurrency space.
Government's Position: The U.S. Department of Justice is pursuing another attempt to secure convictions against Storm, highlighting the ongoing legal debate over the responsibilities of developers of decentralized software.
Market Reactions: Following recent developments, the overall cryptocurrency market saw a rise, with Bitcoin's value increasing significantly, reflecting positive retail sentiment amidst ongoing legal and regulatory discussions.

Bitcoin Price Surge: Bitcoin surpassed $71,000, igniting speculation about a potential bull run, although analysts caution that future movements depend on macroeconomic factors like high Brent crude prices.
Low On-Chain Volume: Analysts note that Bitcoin's on-chain transaction volume has dropped to multi-year lows, a pattern historically preceding major price increases, indicating a lack of trading activity.
Retail Sentiment: Retail sentiment around Bitcoin remains bullish, despite low trading volumes, with some analysts suggesting that current market conditions could lead to significant price movements in the future.
Whale Activity: Whales are reportedly moving Bitcoin off exchanges, reducing available supply, which often precedes price increases, amidst a complex macroeconomic backdrop affecting market dynamics.

Bitcoin Milestone: The Bitcoin network has reached a significant milestone with the issuance of the 20 millionth Bitcoin at a block height of 940,000, leaving approximately one million coins yet to be mined.
Major Purchase: Strategy has purchased $1.28 billion worth of Bitcoin, increasing its total holdings to around $56 billion, while over 95% of Bitcoin's total supply has now been mined.
Market Sentiment: Bitcoin is trading near $68,768, with retail sentiment remaining bullish, although chatter levels have been low recently.
Mining Power: The largest Bitcoin mining pools, including Marathon Digital and Riot Platforms, control significant computing power, enhancing their chances of discovering new blocks and earning mining rewards.

Yen Exchange Rate: The USD/JPY exchange rate is nearing 158, the highest levels since the late 1980s, indicating a revival in global yen carry trade and reflecting the continued weakness of the Japanese yen.
Impact on Global Markets: The yen's weakness is pushing liquidity into global financial markets, as investors borrow cheap yen to invest in higher-yielding assets, including cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, which have historically shown strong correlations with such liquidity flows.
Historical Context: Past trends show that periods of low Japanese interest rates have coincided with significant increases in Bitcoin prices, suggesting that current monetary conditions could similarly influence crypto markets.
Investment Flows: Recent data indicates that almost $1 trillion is linked to yen carry trade strategies, with substantial inflows into digital assets, particularly Bitcoin, despite geopolitical tensions and rising oil prices affecting market sentiment.






