Bitcoin falls below $65,000 as Trump tariff moves raise uncertainty

Bitcoin fell more than 5% to below $65,000 on Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans to raise global tariffs to 15%.

The drop came as Asian equities rose in early trade, underscoring crypto’s divergence from regional stock markets amid renewed tariff uncertainty.

Bitcoin has seen a sharp sell-off since October last year when it crossed $125,000, with the downturn extending into the new year. The world’s largest cryptocurrency is down 26% so far this year and has lost over 47% since the October high.

In early February, Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan attributed bitcoin’s slide primarily to the crypto market’s “four-year cycle,” arguing that the current retracement mirrors patterns seen in past downturns.

He had highlighted there was no single catalyst behind the losses, pointing instead to investors rotating into gold and artificial intelligence stocks, lingering concerns over Fed nominee Kevin Warsh and broader “quantum risk.”

Bitwise has more than $15 billion in assets under management, and is heavily into crypto ETFs.

Spot gold was trading over 2% higher Monday, showing a string divergence from bitcoin, which has been referred to as “digital gold.”

— CNBC’s Blair Bao contributed to this report.