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Essentially, the market is reacting to the transmission chain of "trade protectionism escalation—deterioration of the global economic outlook—decline in risk appetite." Cryptocurrencies, especially Bitcoin, exhibit a strong correlation with traditional tech stocks (represented by the NASDAQ index) and safe-haven assets (represented by gold), revealing their current positioning in the eyes of macro traders: they are high-beta risk assets rather than the safe-haven assets many once believed.
When Trump issues new tariff threats (such as imposing high tariffs on the EU and Japan) or signs "reciprocal tariff" executive orders, the market immediately prices in the following expectations:
1. **Global trade contraction**: Tariff barriers will hinder global trade and drag down economic growth.
2. **Resurgence of inflationary pressures**: Rising costs of imported goods may push inflation higher again, putting the Federal Reserve in a dilemma regarding monetary policy. The rate-cut cycle might be delayed or shortened, and the expectation of maintaining higher interest rates for longer ("Higher for Longer") will intensify. The anticipated tightening of liquidity is directly bearish for risk assets.
3. **Safe-haven sentiment heats up**: Investors, worried about economic uncertainty, will reduce exposure to risk assets like stocks and cryptocurrencies and instead flock to safe-haven assets such as gold and government bonds.
This is the fundamental reason why we see the pattern "tariff threats → US stocks decline, Nasdaq futures fall → Bitcoin drops along with them → gold rises" repeatedly playing out. The cryptocurrency market, especially with its large leverage and quantitative trading programs, quickly captures and amplifies these traditional market sentiment swings, leading to "flash crashes."
However, this relationship is not purely linear. When tariff threats are "anticipated" or when there is a "policy reversal," market reactions are entirely different.
* **"All bad news priced in" rebound**: If tariff policies are already within market expectations and fully priced in (such as the steel and aluminum tariffs on February 11), when the policy is actually implemented, the market may rebound due to the removal of uncertainty.
* **Policy "lightning reversals"**: The most extreme example was Trump suddenly suspending tariffs on April 9 last year, which was interpreted by the market as a significant signal of risk appetite shift, leading to a revenge rally in global risk assets. Due to cryptocurrencies' 24/7 trading nature, their response was even more rapid than traditional stocks.
These series of events indicate that the cryptocurrency market has become deeply integrated into the global macro financial system. Its price discovery is no longer solely driven by on-chain activity or industry narratives but is largely influenced by traditional macroeconomic events, geopolitical developments, and fiscal and monetary policy expectations. Traders now need to pay close attention to Trump's social media accounts and tariff policy developments, just as they do with Federal Reserve meetings.
For future judgments, the key is to distinguish between "anticipated" and "unexpected." Ongoing trade frictions and moderate tariff escalations may be gradually digested by the market and establish new benchmarks. However, any protectionist policies that exceed current market expectations and are more aggressive could trigger the next cross-market safe-haven wave. In such an environment, high volatility in cryptocurrencies will become the norm.