In brief
Altcoins have sagged as U.S. President Trump sparked trade tensions, preparing to send tariff rates letters letters to trading partners.
Cryptocurrencies including DOGE, XRP and SOL posted losses Friday morning.
Trump told the media that “10 or 12” letters would be sent Friday, with more to follow over the “next few days.”
Major altcoins have dropped after U.S. President Donald Trump stirred up trade tensions by threatening tariffs once again, while the controversial “Big, Beautiful Bill” passed its final hurdle in Congress on Thursday—much to the dismay of Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
XRP has dropped 2.8% over the past 24 hours, with Solana falling 2.6%, and Cardano 4%. Fan favorite Dogecoin has also tumbled by 4% and Hyperliquid 4.7%.
“President Donald Trump signaled that new tariff notices could be issued as early as Friday, aiming to increase leverage ahead of the July 9 trade negotiations,” an analyst at derivatives exchange Bitunix said in a note shared with Decrypt. “This move signals a potential new round of escalation in U.S. global trade policy. Markets are concerned about further deterioration in global trade and its impact on economic outlook.”
Trump told reporters that “10 or 12” letters were set to be issued on Friday, notifying countries of tariffs ranging between 10% to 20% or 60% to 70%. More letters are set to be issued “over the next few days,” the President said.
The move comes ahead of the 90-day freeze of U.S. tariffs expiring on Wednesday, July 9. These tariffs were originally announced during Liberation Day in April, which saw Ethereum slide 6.5% and Dogecoin 9.8% in the day following.
Since then, trade war tensions have eased thanks to deals struck with China and the UK, prompting markets to rise.
However, tariff anxiety has reignited as the 90-day freeze looms. In turn, altcoins like Jupiter have slumped 6.3% on the day, Worldcoin 6.2%, and Algorand 5.8%, while edgy meme coin Pepe sagged by 6.3%.
Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill”
Meanwhile, Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill” passed its final hurdle in Congress on Thursday.
Tesla CEO and former Trump ally called the bill a “disgusting abomination” back in June. He then went on a public social media tirade, claiming Trump was named in files relating to convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Trump later claimed Musk only turned on him once the richest man in the world discovered that the “Big, Beautiful Bill” would cut a mandate relating to electric vehicles—the core of Musk’s Tesla business.
Arthur Hayes, co-founder of crypto exchange BitMEX, predicted that the bill could result in Bitcoin testing $90,000 this year, despite previously predicting the leading crypto would hit $250,000 this year. Hayes argued that the Treasury would refill its General Account, which may act as a potential liquidity drain from assets like Bitcoin.
However, Bitcoin has traded sideways since the passing of the bill, with altcoins being the hardest hit.
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