Bitcoin led the sharp fall in cryptocurrencies on March 4, declining over 9 percent to slip below $84,000

Bitcoin led the sharp fall in cryptocurrencies on March 4, declining over 9 percent to slip below $84,000 after briefly testing $95,000

Bitcoin price today slipped below the $84,000 level in the early hours of March 4, marking significant volatility driven by news flow.

The world's largest cryptocurrency fell sharply after US President Donald Trump unveiled plans to impose tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, triggering a selloff in global equities and a rush for safe haven buying.

Bitcoin fell over 9 percent to trade at $83,900 by 01:05 ET (05:05 GMT), while ether dropped 11 percent to trade at $2,096. Solana crashed over 15 percent to trade at $568, cardano dropped nearly 17 percent and Ripple Labs-backed XRP fell around 11 percent. The popular Dogecoin meanwhile fell over 12 percent to $0.1934 apiece, as per data on Coinmarketcap.

The crash in crypto assets comes after a brief rally, which was fueled after President Trump's promise of including bitcoin along with other key cryptocurrencies in the proposed US Strategic Reserve.

Earlier in January, President Trump had signed an executive order for the creation of a cryptocurrency working group, which would work towards the creation of a national cryptocurrency stockpile, in line with Trump's Presidential campaign promise.

Trump's executive order didn't mention names of the cryptocurrencies to be included as part of the strategic reserve. In a post on social media platform Truth Social on Sunday, Trump named bitcoin, ether, solana, cardano and XRP to be included in the reserve.

"I also love Bitcoin and Ehtereum," the US President said, while adding that the two cryptos will be at the "heart of the reserve". He will also make sure that the US is the "Crypto Capital of the World".

"I will make sure the US is the Crypto Capital of the World. We are MAKING AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!" he said.

The rally in crypto assets was also short-lived after the US president announced plans to impose tariffs of 25 percent on Canada and Mexico, and in return, both countries and China outlined retaliatory tariffs.

China announced up to 15 percent tariffs on select US imports, increasing concerns over a potential trade war. Investors panicked and pulled out of riskier assets, resulting in a broad selloff.

Some analysts questioned if Trump engaged in market manipulation with his latest announcement, and financial commentator Peter Schiff accused Trump of organizing the 'biggest crypto pump-and-dump scheme of all time'.