US President Donald Trump announced bilateral tariffs with other countries on April 2, Independence Day.
Bitcoin (BTC), which had previously risen to $88,000, crashed along with the US stock market after Trump completed announcing bilateral tariffs. However, Bitcoin managed to hold on to $82,000 despite the tariff-induced sell-off in the US.
As risk aversion continues in Asia, investors await Beijing’s response to Trump’s sweeping bilateral tariffs on China and other Asian countries. Trump imposed a new 34% tariff on goods from China, on top of the existing 20% tariff, bringing the total tax to 54%, the highest for any country.
Experts say the ball is now in China’s court and China’s retaliation could affect global markets as well as Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. At this point, Robin Brooks, chief economist at the Institute of International Finance, said China’s response will be very important. If China devalues the yuan to counter U.S. tariffs, it could trigger a global risk-off that would first affect emerging markets and then the U.S., Brooks said. China has been cautious so far, but that could change soon, he said.
Market analysts have also said that allowing the yuan to depreciate, which makes Chinese goods more attractive on international markets, is a way to counter Trump’s tariffs. But they also said that, as observed in 2015 and 2018, this could pose a problem for carry (foreign exchange) transactions and scare financial markets.
China has called on the US to immediately lift the tariffs, saying it will take countermeasures if the US does not immediately rescind the latest tariffs, Reuters reported.
Death Cross Alert in Bitcoin!
While Bitcoin was holding on to $82,000 in the decline it experienced after Trump’s tariff announcement, the death cross alarm was sounded. Bitcoin’s 50-day simple moving average (SMA) is on track to break below the 200-day SMA, at which point it is expected to form a “death cross” pattern that would signal a bearish reversal in BTC.
While the Death Cross signal has a mixed track record in predicting price trends in Bitcoin, its arrival amid rising trade tensions has been worrisome for the price. Apart from the Death Cross signal, on Deribit and Amberdata, options are trending towards put or downside protection until the end of June.
What is Death Cross?
Death Cross: A shorter-term moving average crosses over a longer-term moving average from top to bottom. This crossover is considered significant as a sign of major weakness. This pattern occurs when a shorter-term moving average, such as the 50-week, crosses below a longer-term moving average, such as the 200-week.
When this pattern is looked at technically, it is interpreted as a sign that a potential uptrend is reversing and a downtrend may begin. A death cross is often seen as a warning for investors to be careful as it could lead to a significant price drop. Only time will tell whether BTC will experience a death cross and trigger a drop.
This is not investment advice.