Crypto Markets Struggle as Inflation Fears and Tariff Tensions Weigh on Sentiment

QCP Insights for Feb. 19 showed that inflation fears and escalating tariff tensions continue to dominate global market sentiment.

Crypto markets faced downward pressure on Feb. 19 amid persistent inflation concerns and looming tariff hikes, while Solana encountered added volatility ahead of a major token unlock.

Fresh QCP Insights showed that inflation fears and escalating tariff tensions continued to dominate global market sentiment on Monday.

While the 10% tariff on select Chinese goods is now in effect, the proposed 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico remained uncertain.

However, these concerns did not stop equities from rising further, and volatility remained subdued, with the VIX continuing to trade below 20.

On the other hand, crypto markets continued to trade sideways, thanks to increasing sell pressure.

Solana faced downward pressure ahead of a 30 million token unlock on March 1, which was compounded by hedging flows tied to FTX-related SOL holdings.

This contributed to broader weakness in BTC and ETH, which both failed to hold key technical levels last week, leading to a sell-off on Monday.

Adding to the market turbulence, Argentina’s memecoin LIBRA surged to a $4 billion valuation following a presidential endorsement.

However, the coin collapsed by 89% within 24 hours, leaving retail investors with massive losses.

Meanwhile, Michael Saylor’s Strategy did not add to its bitcoin holdings for the second consecutive week.

However, the firm is planning a $2 billion private offering to expand its BTC position.

Despite these headwinds, bitcoin remained resilient at around $95,000, though it lacked short-term catalysts to push higher.