Bitcoin price today: Token slumps to $78,000 levels, crypto markets face sharp sell-off amid Donald Trump’s tariffs hit

Bitcoin price today: The impact of United States President Donald Trump's global tariffs war finally hit cryptocurrencies on April 7, with the markets seeing a sharp sell-off at Asia open, Bloomberg reported.

Edul Patel, Co-founder and CEO of Mudrex told Livemint that the broad sell-off in global markets has spilled into crypto — hitting altcoins even harder. Further, Coinglass data show about $745 million worth of bullish crypto bets were sold over the past 24 hours, the highest in nearly six weeks, it added.

Black Monday: Equities Crash takes Crypto Down With It

According to the CoinSwitch Markets Desk, investors remained apprehensive about the economic implications of the newly imposed tariffs.

The significant slump indicates “a clear risk-off sentiment across markets”, the BB report added. Notably, the world's biggest cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, plummeted by 7 per cent to $77,077 at markets open in Singapore on April 7. Ethereum, the second largest crypto, also sunk to its lowest intra-day levels since October 2023 to $1,538, it said.

Avinash Shekhar, Co-Founder & CEO of Pi42 noted, “The sudden plunge of Bitcoin below the $80,000 threshold and overall crypto market selloff that erased more than $160 billion in value a pivotal point fueled by macroeconomic uncertainty and investor wariness.”

“As futures on Wall Street dipped and ‘Black Monday’ repeat fears emerged, the coupling between traditional markets and crypto holdings becomes more visible. Bitcoin's decline of more than 7 per cent and furious weekend losses show bearish force in the offing, as market players are closely watching cap trajectories for signs of what's ahead,” Shekhar added.

Global Crypto Markets Down 6.59% Amid Trump Tariffs

The global crypto markets capitalisation (m-cap) on April 7 is $2.5 trillion, a 6.59 per cent decrease over the past 24 hours, according to data on CoinMarketCap. Overall, the total crypto market trading volume over the last 24 hours is $101.84 billon, up 137.91 per cent.

Further, the total volume in DeFi is currently $6.02 billion, 5.91 per cent of the overall crypto market 24-hour volume. The volume of all stable coins is now $95.57 billion, which is 93.84 per cent of the total crypto market 24-hour volume.

Bitcoin’s dominance in the crypto market on April 7 is at 62.52 per cent, an increase of 0.57 per cent over the day.

Bitcoin Price Today: At $78,000 Levels, Ether, Solana, Tether Also Down

At time of writing, at 7 am on April 7, Bitcoin had recovered slightly from its open levels to settle near $78,938 apiece, still down 5.69 per cent over the past 24 hours. The m-cap of Bitcoin is at $1.56 trillion and trading volume was at $40.97 billion, data on CoinMarketCap showed.

Further, Ethereum was at $1,590.06, down 12.10 per cent from the previous day, with m-cap of $191.88 billion and trade volumes of $24.77 billion.

Solana was at $106.53 apiece on April 7, down 11.44 per cent over the past 24 hours, with a market cap of $54.91 billion and trade volume of $4.25 billion.

And Tether was at 0.9994, with a market cap of $144.18 billion and volume of $82.48 billion — double that of even Bitcoin. As Tether is a stablecoin linked to the US Dollar, many use it to buy and sell other crypto tokens, thus pushing its trading volume to number one, ahead of the largest crypto.

What Do Experts Say About Crypto Markets Slump?

Sean McNulty, head of APAC derivatives at digital-asset prime brokerage FalconX told Bloomberg that Options markets suggest the selling pressure may continue “with the skew for puts picking up considerably”. “Key support levels for Bitcoin and Ether are $75,000 and $1,500, respectively,” he added.

“Macro is driving the action right now. The tariff-driven pullback is idiosyncratic and not because of deeper issues in our economy. Just like it was artificially injected in, so too can it be taken out after the Trump administration feels it has won concessions from other countries,” Cosmo Jiang, general partner at Pantera Capital told the publication.

“Investor sentiment remains weak, with the Fear and Greed Index edging toward ‘Extreme Fear.’ However, a potential bright spot lies ahead as US federal agencies are expected to disclose the US’s crypto holdings later today. A sizable confirmation could trigger a relief rally,” according to Patel.

He added that for now, Bitcoin needs to reclaim the $80,000 mark or it risks retesting its previous all-time high near $74,000.

CoinSwitch Markets Desk was also optimistic about a regulatory decision from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) after review of previous crypto-related guidances. “This initiative aims to ease regulatory pressures on the digital assets sector and may lead to new frameworks governing cryptocurrencies,” it noted.

Shekhar feels that the “incessant pressure emanating from worldwide financial anxiety and short-term sales may continue challenging Bitcoin's backbone as well as the overall marketplace's stability.”

(With inputs from Bloomberg)