Bitcoin started to go up in price after China hit back against new tariffs announced by U.S. President Donald Trump.
The move caused ripples across global markets and brought cryptocurrencies back into the spotlight.
On Friday, Bitcoin rose by about 1.7%, reaching $83,396.89, reports Ukrinform. Other big cryptocurrencies also went up. XRP and Solana each gained 3%.
Dogecoin jumped 6%. While digital currencies had a decent day, related tech stocks didn’t do so well. Coinbase dropped 8%. MicroStrategy also slipped a little, going down more than 1%.
At the same time, gold took a hit. Spot gold prices fell by 2.6% to $3,038.50 per ounce. U.S. gold futures went down even more, dropping 2.9% to $3,020.79.
Investors seemed uneasy. China’s Commerce Ministry had announced a 34% tariff on all U.S. goods.
This came just two days after Trump rolled out his own tariffs against Chinese products. It’s the latest move in a growing trade fight between the world’s two biggest economies.
James Davis, who runs Crypto Valley Exchange, said this kind of tension drives money elsewhere.
As U.S. manufacturers face higher costs from tariffs and inflation, investors may start putting more money into Asian markets and digital assets like Bitcoin.
This trade war has been heating up fast. On Wednesday, Trump called it “America’s Liberation Day” as he introduced a sweeping 10% tariff on nearly all imported goods. China got hit with a special rate of 34%.
China didn’t wait long to answer. It announced its own 34% tariff on U.S. imports, starting April 10.
This is on top of tariffs that are already in place. The back-and-forth has investors worried, and markets are reacting.
For now, Bitcoin and a few other digital assets are seeing short-term gains.
But it’s clear that bigger economic tensions are just getting started.
