Bitcoin Plummets to $82,000 as Trump's 'Reciprocal Tariff' Policy Announcement Rocks the Market

The virtual asset (cryptocurrency) market is experiencing a sharp decline following President Donald Trump's tariff announcement.

The virtual asset (cryptocurrency) market is experiencing a sharp decline following President Donald Trump's tariff announcement. It is interpreted that the investment sentiment has been suppressed as a higher-than-expected level of reciprocal tariff policy was announced.

According to the virtual asset data platform CoinMarketCap at 11:15 PM on the 3rd, the leading virtual asset Bitcoin (BTC) is trading at $82,024, down 4.01% from the previous day. Bitcoin showed an upward trend to $88,000 the previous day, but plummeted to the $82,000 level immediately after President Trump's tariff announcement in the early morning.

Among altcoins, Ethereum (ETH) is trading at $1,762, down 5.62% from the previous day. It fell below the psychological resistance level of $1,800 again since the 31st. Other major altcoins such as XRP, Binance Coin (BNB), Solana (SOL), Dogecoin (DOGE), and Pi Network (PI) are also showing weakness.

Amid the ongoing market weakness due to macroeconomic uncertainties and geopolitical risks since the beginning of the year, Trump's tariff bomb has caused many coins to plummet by more than 50% compared to last year. In particular, projects like NEO and Mask Network (MASK), which experienced significant declines, have recognized the seriousness of the current situation and announced emergency measures.

Stronger-than-Expected US Tariff Policy

This virtual asset market crash was triggered by President Trump's tariff policy. Earlier, President Trump announced in a speech at the White House Rose Garden at around 5 AM that "the US will impose a basic tariff of 10% on all imported goods and apply reciprocal tariffs to about 60 trading countries."

Reciprocal tariff rates have been set for each country: △China 34%, △European Union (EU) 20%, △Vietnam 46%, △Taiwan 32%, △Japan 24%, △India 26%, △Thailand 36%, △Switzerland 31%, △Indonesia 32%, △Malaysia 24%, △Cambodia 49%, △United Kingdom 10%, △South Africa 30%.

South Korea, which had previously signed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the US, is also expected to be subject to a 26% reciprocal tariff.

Yoo Sang-dae, Deputy Governor of the Bank of Korea, diagnosed that "the US's reciprocal tariff measures are stronger than market expectations in terms of high tariff rates by country and the wide range of target countries," and "the possibility of increased financial market volatility is very high depending on future developments such as responses from major countries."

Why US Reciprocal Tariffs Are Fatal to Virtual Assets

① Inflation Concerns↑… Possibility of Interest Rate Cuts ↓

First, the possibility of price increases in the US due to tariffs is expected to worsen the investment sentiment for virtual assets. If inflation rises in the market due to the application of reciprocal tariffs, the possibility of interest rate cuts decreases, and market liquidity and investment sentiment are likely to become rigid.

If tariffs begin, prices in the US are bound to face upward pressure. The US has so far imported mobile phones, electronic products, machinery, textiles, and wood at cheap prices from Southeast Asian countries like Vietnam, where labor costs are relatively low, rather than from its own country with high labor costs. However, if tariffs are imposed, the prices of these imports will rise.

As a result, if inflation occurs in the US, it is expected to disrupt the Federal Reserve's (Fed) interest rate cut plans. It will become even more difficult to implement interest rate cuts to achieve the annual inflation target.

② Concerns of Real Economy Recession… Bad News for Virtual Assets

The recession of the real economy in countries that have become tariff targets is also likely to act as bad news for the virtual asset market.

The US reciprocal tariff targets countries that have a trade surplus with the US. The tariff rates are set according to the size of the trade surplus. The higher the US trade dependence and surplus ratio, the higher the tariff applied.

Therefore, if the trade volume decreases due to reciprocal tariffs, the GDP of those countries may also decrease. For example, Vietnam recorded $123.463 billion (about 124.5606 trillion won) in trade with the US in 2024, which amounts to 26% of Vietnam's 2024 GDP ($476.3 billion).

"Such large-scale tariffs are an unprecedented case. It