Bitcoin price drops to $98,700 as China announces tariffs on US goods

On Tuesday, Bitcoin's price plunged to around $98,700, as China — the world’s second-largest economy — imposed new tariffs on the United States in response to U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods.

Bitcoin is currently trading at a price of around $98,790 in the U.S. during Tuesday early hours. Meanwhile, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency, Ether, saw its price crater to around $2,729 at the time of writing. Altcoins like XRP and Cardano also dropped down to $2.56 and $0.74 respectively, while meme coins like Dogecoin plunged to a value of $0.27.

Trump’s official meme coin also saw a drop in value to $17.09 on Tuesday morning, according to CoinMarketCap.

The market turbulence follows this week’s global crypto sell-off that saw more than $2.2 billion in liquidations. Monday represented one of the largest liquidation events in a single day for crypto, while Tuesday's worsening trade tensions threaten to potentially destabilize the economy.

China imposed 15% tariffs on key U.S. imports like coal and LNG (liquified natural gas) on Tuesday, while oil imports, agricultural products, and some vehicle imports will be subject to a 10% tariff. This is in direct response to President Donald Trump’s announcement this month of 10% tariffs on Chinese products, and will go into effect on February 10.

“The U.S.’s unilateral imposition of tariffs seriously violates the rules of the World Trade Organization,” China said about its decision. “It is not only unhelpful in solving its own problems, but also undermines the normal economic and trade cooperation between China and the U.S.“

It’s unclear if Trump will resolve or temporarily pause tariffs on China after Beijing's counter-action. On Monday, President Trump halted proposed tariffs on Canada and Mexico that were expected to go into effect on Tuesday. Both Mexico and Canada agreed to address border security and the fentanyl crisis, two major demands appealing to Trump’s electoral base.

Trump’s tariffs on neighboring Mexico and Canada were largely anticipated to impact U.S. consumers and have severe repercussions on the U.S. economy, potentially driving up the price of new vehicles by $3,000 .