Trump announces trade deal with EU following months of negotiations
Investing.com-- Bitcoin fell Thursday, as ongoing worries about a Trump-led global trade war soured risk sentiment overshadowing softer-than-expected U.S. inflation data.
Bitcoin fell 2.2% to $80,833.0 by 2:39 ET (18:39 GMT).
Trade, recession concerns keep Bitcoin under pressure
Bitcoin’s rebound from its weakest levels this year was stalled by persistent concerns over a potential U.S. recession, as well as fears of a rapidly escalating U.S.-led trade war.
Trump’s 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum took effect from Wednesday, with the U.S. President promising to impose reciprocal tariffs by April 2. Reports also showed that Trump was planning even higher trade duties against Europe.
Markets feared that Trump’s tariffs could disrupt global trade and underpin U.S. inflation, pressuring the economy and bringing about a recession this year. Trump and his cabinet have largely dismissed such concerns, but have flagged some near-term turbulence as his policies are enacted.
Trump has also flip-flopped on some of his tariff plans, having granted Canada and Mexico an extended exemption from some import tariffs. This uncertainty has also kept markets on edge.
Risk-heavy assets such as crypto, which are largely speculative in nature, tend to underperform in times of increased volatility and risk aversion.
This saw Bitcoin vastly underperform U.S. stock markets so far in 2025, with the world’s biggest crypto having lost about 10% year-to-date, compared to a more than 5% loss in the S&P 500 index.
Trump family discussed buying a stake in Binance.US, WSJ reports; BNB jumps
In other crypto-related news, a representative of the Trump family engaged in discussions to acquire a stake in Binance’s U.S. division, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.
The potential investment was reportedly linked to World Liberty Financial, a crypto project backed by the Trump family, the report says, citing sources familiar with the matter.
The report also noted that real estate investor Steve Witkoff, a longtime friend of former President Donald Trump, was involved in the negotiations. Witkoff and his family established World Liberty Financial just two months before Trump won the presidency in November.
Discussions began last year after Binance reached out to Trump allies, exploring a possible deal with the family in an effort to regain access to the U.S. market.
Following the news, BNB, the native token of Binance’s BNB Chain, jumped more than 2%. The token initially exceeded $600, but pared some gains and was up at $592.05 at the time of reporting.
Crypto price today: altcoins fall with PPI data, Fed in focus
Broader crypto prices tracked Bitcoin’s mild gains, but still remained close to recent lows amid little relief for markets.
World no.2 crypto Ether fell 2.4% to $1,849.25.
Solana and Cardano fell, while XRP jumped more than 1% to $2.27. Polygon fell more than 3%. Among meme tokens, Dogecoin fell 1.7%, while $TRUMP 0.9%.
PPI index showed no gain in February, easing inflation fears
On the macro front, wholesale prices remained unchanged in February, offering some relief on inflation concerns amid ongoing tariff fears, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ report on Thursday.
The producer price index (PPI), a key gauge of inflation pressures in the supply chain, showed no increase for the month after a revised 0.6% jump in January. Economists polled by Dow Jones had expected a 0.3% rise.
Core PPI, which excludes food and energy, fell 0.1%, marking the first decline since July and coming in well below the forecasted 0.3% increase. Meanwhile, core prices excluding trade services rose 0.2%, also missing expectations for a 0.3% gain.
The reading comes less than a week before a Federal Reserve meeting, where the central bank is widely expected to keep interest rates steady amid rampant economic uncertainty.
Ambar Warrick contributed to this report.