Bitcoin price today: tumbles to $110k as US-China trade tensions persist

Investing.com-- Bitcoin dipped on Tuesday, cutting short a recent rebound as markets remained largely risk-averse amid heightened concerns over a renewed trade war between the U.S. and China. 

Broader crypto markets also moved lower, remaining on the back foot after U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement of 100% tariffs on China wiped out some $500 billion in crypto market capitalization in a matter of days. 

Bitcoin was at the heart of this rout, tumbling sharply from a $126,000 record high hit last week. The world’s biggest crypto fell 4% to $110,770 by 09:25 ET (13:25 GMT). 

Demand for the world’s largest crypto was largely supplanted by demand for safe havens such as gold, which hit another record high on Tuesday. 

While crypto markets did take some support from U.S. officials offering conciliatory comments on China, risk appetite still remained largely off. 

Bitcoin rebound short-lived as US-China jitters spark crypto rout 

Bitcoin slumped as low as $103,800 over the weekend after Trump’s initial announcement of additional tariffs against China. 

While the world’s biggest crypto did recover as high as $115,000 on Monday, it cut short this rebound amid few signs of improving U.S.-China relations.

Beijing said on Tuesday that it was ready to “fight to the end” in a trade war with Washington, while also accusing the U.S. of discriminatory practices. 

The latest trade tensions– which threaten to undermine an earlier framework deal between Washington and Beijing– largely stem from U.S. ire over China introducing stricter export controls on its rare earth industry.

China said on Tuesday that the controls were justified, and signaled little intent to acquiesce to U.S. demands. While Beijing did confirm that working-level talks were ongoing with Washington, it warned against the imposition of more trade tariffs. 

Bitcoin’s $500bn wipeout exposes rising equity correlation, Citi says

A string of forced liquidations from leveraged long positions has highlighted Bitcoin’s growing sensitivity to equity market swings, Citigroup said in a note seen by CoinDesk.

The bank links Friday’s sharp crypto selloff to a broader risk-off move sparked by escalating U.S.-China trade tensions, noting that futures markets cracked first before pressure spilled into digital assets.

The sudden crash wiped more than $500 billion off crypto valuations and triggered close to $20 billion in derivatives liquidations, with Bitcoin briefly plunging around 13% to near $102,000 in under an hour. 

Despite the turmoil, the bank points out that ETF inflows into bitcoin funds have held up, suggesting the presence of newer investors using less leverage than prior market cycles.

Citi argues that steady ETF demand underpins its base-case outlook for Bitcoin, while a more bearish path would come into play if broader equity markets continue to weaken.

Crypto price today: Ether, altcoins track Bitcoin weakness

Broader crypto prices were largely down on Tuesday, tracking the renewed weakness in Bitcoin.

World no.2 crypto Ether slid 3.8% to $3,943.91, after falling as low as $3,400 over the weekend.

XRP plunged nearly 6% and remained pinned below $2.40.

Solana edged slightly higher, while Cardano lost 5.5%.

Among memecoins, Dogecoin fell 5.1%, while $TRUMP slid 2.5%. 

Beyond trade tensions, crypto markets were also grappling with increasing doubts over the corporate treasury strategy, especially in Bitcoin. 

(Ambar Warrick contributed to this report.)