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President Trump's sweeping tariffs rattled the global markets and sent cryptocurrencies reeling, especially along with other traditional financial assets. The announcement of a 54% tariff on all goods from China and 32% on goods from Taiwan saw a liquidation of over $1.09 billion in cryptocurrencies within a time frame of only 24 hours. Bitcoin faced a plunge of 7.2% below $82,000, with most of the prominent cryptocurrencies following suit. While market turmoil often provides buying opportunities for long-term thinking investors. Here are five cryptocurrencies that may generate returns during tariff-related volatility.
As for the original cryptocurrency, it plummeted sharply to around $82,000 following the tariff news, yet Bitcoin still remains the leader of the market with a market capitalization of over $1.6 trillion. The value proposition of Bitcoin is still underpinned as "digital gold" by its limited supply of 21 million coins. The institutional uptake of Bitcoin has accelerated markedly since 2023, with massive inflows into spot ETFs. Historically, the asset has managed to return strongly after geopolitical shocks, often emerging even stronger from the volatility. Bitcoin's resilience and its first-mover advantage make it a bedrock holding despite the current headwinds.
Ethereum dipped down to around $1,806 after the tariff announcement, showing de facto price integrity albeit a lesser loss of 1.09% in 24 hours. Besides playing an eminent role in DeFi and NFTs, the infrastructure status of Ethereum is highly regarded in the crypto ecosystem. The energy consumption has decreased by 99.9% post the migration to proof-of-stake in 2022. While the future scalability is made easy. Thousands of applications are built on the blockchain, such that Ethereum remains unrivaled in its utility amongst competitors. Current prices might provide valuation opportunities for long-term investors focused on the fundamental usage of the network.
XRP fell by 5% during the market selloff, with an important utility for cross-border payment systems. XRP facilitates currency exchanges to fiat and cryptos. With compelling advantages in terms of speed for settlement (3-5 seconds) and negligible cost (0.00001 XRP) for transactions. XRP would do exceedingly well for international remittances. Recent clarifications on its legal status have definitely reduced the investment risk after years of regulatory uncertainty. Having a low correlation with Bitcoin, the token is an interesting choice for diversifying portfolios on real-world use cases.
Solana fell viciously by 15% on the news, sending it below $113 post-announcement of the tariffs. However, while prices tanked, the technological advantages of Solana are still there. It remains best positioned for DeFi apps, allowing for as much as 65,000 transactions per second with average fees below $0.01. The blockchain has grown tremendously along the ecosystem in NFT marketplaces and on-chain trading. Currently, the token shows improved stability after addressing issues that affected its network reliability in the past. Potentially, the current price correction opens a door for investors who emphasize scalability.
With an 8.6% drop after the tariffs. Cardano continues advancing its methodical and research-oriented philosophy within blockchain development. Cardano focuses on the methodical development of the blockchain with the distinctive perspective of security and sustainability, and peer-reviewed academic research. Smart contract capability and transaction throughput have been enhanced through recent upgrades. The sustained focus of the platform on application development for the world, in particular for Africa, provides special real-world use cases. The relatively weaker valuation that Cardano possesses, compared with its peers with equally ambitious goals, likely provides the upside for long-term-oriented investors.
The tariffs have particular relevance to cryptocurrency mining operations in that much of the specialized hardware comes from China and Taiwan. Equipment costs going up could hinder the hash rates of these networks and possibly influence the dynamics of minting coins when these changes come into effect. Meanwhile, the average US tariff has reached 22.5%-the highest since 1909, stirring fears of recession that may also spillover to risk assets.
Oddly enough, these trade tensions coincide with some major policy shifts. A House committee has moved to regulate U.S. dollar-backed stablecoins via its passage of the STABLE Act. While some industry executives seek, through congressional lobbying, the status of interest payments on these tokens. These two parallel events highlight the more intricate interactions linking economic policy and crypto regulation.
While Trump's tariff shock creates immediate market turbulence. The fundamental forces governing each of the featured cryptocurrencies can withstand the onslaught of temporary price pressures. While evaluating the opportunities, investors need to weigh their risk appetite alongside their investment timeframe. History has shown that geopolitical issues create temporary dips that are then very good entry points for anyone who has faith in the long-term future of the technology. As always, market research diligence, and diversification of portfolio are the top strategies to deal with cryptocurrency market turbulence.
