Trump Tariff Threat on China Sends Bitcoin Tumbling Below $119K

2 weeks ago 6

Cryptos came under pressure as a potential U.S.-China trade war once again on the table.

Oct 10, 2025, 3:37 p.m.

It's deja vu all over again for bitcoin bulls as Monday's rally to an all-time high triggered not FOMO, but instead fast retreat. That retreat sped up in a big way in late-morning U.S. action on Friday after trade war tensions between the U.S. and China ratcheted higher.

U.S. President Donald Trump said in a Truth Social post minutes ago that he's preparing a "massive increase" in tariffs on Chinese goods in response to China earlier imposing export controls on rare earth metals.

Following the post, bitcoin BTC$111,480.33 plunged below $119,000 from $122,000. Ether ETH$4,233.44, solana SOL$201.48 and XRP each joined in the swift decline.

The drop in crypto prices also weighed on stocks tied to the sector. Circle (CRCL) fell over 6%. Robinhood (HOOD), which gets a large portion of its trading activity from crypto, declined 5%.

Coinbase (COIN) also shed 5%, while MicroStrategy (MSTR) slipped about 3%.

The news rippled across traditional markets, too. WTI crude oil dropped nearly 4% below $60, its weakest price since early May. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq were 1.6% and 1.3% lower, respectively.

Gold? It rallied more than 1% to back over $4,000 per ounce as the yellow metal once again showed itself, not bitcoin, to be the risk-off asset of choice for investors.

At the current $118,800, bitcoin is lower by about 2% over the past 24 hours and about 6% since hitting a new record above $126,000 just four days ago.

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Combined spot and derivatives trading on centralized exchanges surged 7.58% to $9.72 trillion in August, marking the highest monthly volume of 2025

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Morgan Stanley Opens Crypto Access to All Clients Amid Wall Street Shift Toward Digital Assets: CNBC

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The decision marks a major expansion for the bank’s $8.2 trillion wealth and investment management business and suggests a growing acceptance of crypto as an asset class for mainstream investors.

What to know:

  • Morgan Stanley will allow all clients to invest in crypto across all account types, including retirement.
  • Previously, access was limited to high-net-worth clients with aggressive risk profiles.
  • The move reflects growing pressure on traditional finance to adapt as crypto gains mainstream acceptance.
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