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Well… we expected volatility this morning—and safe to say, we got it. Bitcoin rallied nearly 3% to $88,500 within 15 minutes of Trump’s speech. A wild wake-up for anyone just checking the charts—because just three hours later, BTC is trading almost 7% lower. The S&P 500 futures are down nearly 3.5% in the same window, while gold has continued higher, pushing into new all-time highs.
Markets are in full risk-off mode, reacting to what’s now the largest tariff announcement in history.
The moment Trump sent the markets tumbling…
Trump unveiled tariffs on 185 countries. Many expected a blanket 10% tariff—but that wasn’t the case. Instead, Trump laid out a “reciprocal tariff” structure: the US will impose tariffs at half the rate of what each country currently charges the US. For example, if a country charges the US 20%, the US will respond with 10%. China, charging 67%, will now face a 34% tariff.
*The full list of countries affected by US reciprocal tariffs can be found here*
Markets immediately spiralled. Risk assets bled, and recession fears spiked.
Polymarket now puts the odds of a 2025 recession at 49%—more than double from 22% at the end of February. The Fear & Greed Index slid back into extreme fear territory, dropping 19 points from yesterday’s reading of 44 to 25 following this morning’s events.
Not exactly the start to April anyone hoped for. But this shouldn’t come as a surprise. Bitcoin is likely to remain under pressure as recession fears grow, tariffs bite, and risk-on assets suffer.
That said, these are also prime spot buying opportunities. Recession concerns and tariffs are transitory forces—they’ve merely paused the bull market. Once it resumes, the rewards will go to those buying when fear peaks.
Stormrake Spotlight: Ripple (XRP) ($2.12)
Stormrake Spotlight: Ripple (XRP) ($2.12)
XRP dropped 5.5% on Liberation Day volatility and is now hovering just above the bottom of its range. Yesterday’s low briefly broke below support, but the $1.98 level once again held firm, bringing XRP back into the range by close.
This support has now seen seven successful retests—a clear and proven level. Ideally, we see XRP build a base above it.
If $1.98 breaks decisively, there’s little support until $1.50—though that downside would likely only be tested if Bitcoin breaks further.
BTC/USD Key Levels and Price Action:
BTC/USD Key Levels and Price Action:
The past few hours have been brutal for the bulls. Not only has Bitcoin broken its bullish structure by printing a new lower low, but momentum also looks to be fading fast.
BTC fell cleanly through key support at $85.2K, slipping past three CPR levels and moving averages without a bounce. It’s now hovering just above $83K and appears headed for a test of $81.6K support.
If that level fails, sub-$80K is back on the table.
BTC Total ETF Flows for 2 April: $ + 181.8 million
(ETF flow data is sourced from https://farside.co.uk/btc/ and reflects figures at the time of writing.)
*All prices are denominated in USD unless stated otherwise*
Written by Alexandar Artis
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