As stock markets crumbled for a second day on April 4, US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said that the Trump administration’s “reciprocal tariffs” could significantly affect the economy, potentially leading to “higher inflation and slower growth.”

Addressing the public at a conference on April 4, Powell maintained a cautious approach and noted that tariffs could spike inflation “in the coming quarters,” complicating the Fed’s 2% inflation target, just months after rate cuts indicated a soft landing. Powell said,

“While tariffs are highly likely to generate at least a temporary rise in inflation, it is also possible that the effects could be more persistent.” 

Moments before Powell’s speech, US President Donald Trump called out the Fed chair to “CUT INTEREST RATES” in a post on the Truth Social, taking a jab at Powell for being “always late.”

Currently, the Fed faces a critical choice: pause interest rate cuts throughout the year or respond quickly with rate reductions if the economy shows signs of weakening. While the Fed official noted that the economy is in a good place, Powell said that it was,

“Too soon to say what will be the appropriate path for monetary policy,”

On April 4, the unemployment rate also increased to 4.2% in March from 4.1% in February, but on the contrary, March’s Non-Farm Payrolls added 228,000 jobs, which exceeded expectations and reinforced economic strength. In March, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) also rose by 2.8% year over year, with March data due on April 10.

The above figures highlight a strong labor market but nagging inflation concerns, thus aligning with Powell’s warning about potential tariff impacts.

Related: Bitcoin bulls defend $80K support as ‘World War 3 of trade wars’ crushes US stocks

Powell’s caution on higher inflation and slowing economic growth came on the same day that the DOW dropped 2,200 and a 10% two-day loss from the S&P 500. X-based markets resource ‘Watcher Guru’ announced that,

“$3.25 trillion wiped out from the US stock market today. $5.4 billion was added to the crypto market.”

Bitcoin to entertain further volatility

Most investors anticipate that in the short term, Bitcoin (BTC) could see a surge in volatility. Powell’s remarks about tariffs driving “higher inflation” and possibly “higher unemployment” could rattle traditional market investors, prompting a pivot to BTC.

In fact, analysts have pointed out that BTC price appears to be “decoupling” from stocks recent downturn. Although Bitcoin hit a 9-day high on April 2 before President Trump rolled out his “reciprocal tariffs” on “Liberation Day,” the price sold off sharply once the tariffs were revealed at a White House presser.

Since then, Bitcoin has held steady above the $82,000 level, and as US equities markets collapsed on April 4, BTC rallied to $84,720, reflecting price action, which is uncharacteristic of the norm.

Independent market analyst Cory Bates posted the above chart and said,

“[…]Bitcoin is decoupling right before our eyes.”

With China retaliating with 34% tariffs on US goods and Trump pressuring Powell to cut interest rates, market volatility could push Bitcoin’s price upward as a hedge against uncertainty.

During the 2018 U.S.-China trade war, Bitcoin price didn’t see any increase across the entire year. However, it experienced notable volatility and a 15% price rise when the trade war escalated in mid-2018, with the US imposing tariffs on Chinese goods in July, followed by retaliatory measures from China.

Related: Bitcoin sentiment falls to 2023 low, but ‘risk on’ environment may emerge to spark BTC price rally

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

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Between Oct. 25, 2024, and Jan. 16, 2025, XRP (XRP) had one of the best rallies of the current bull market, gaining 600% as investors piled in with the hope that a pro-crypto presidency would benefit Ripple and its cryptocurrency.

During this time, the quarterly average of daily active addresses jumped by 490% and XRP price hit a 7-year high.

Fast forward to the present, and data shows that the speculative interest surrounding XRP is declining. Holders are increasingly facing losses rather than gains, which is dampening their risk appetite.

“Retail confidence in XRP may be slipping”

Since bottoming in 2022, Bitcoin (BTC) and XRP have gained 500% to 600%, but the bulk of XRP’s gains came from a parabolic price increase. Data from Glassnode shows that XRP daily active addresses jumped by 490%, whereas the same metric for Bitcoin increased by 10% over the past four months.

This retail-driven surge pushed XRP’s realized cap from $30.1 billion to $64.2 billion, with $30 billion of that inflow coming from investors in the last six months. The share of XRP’s realized cap held by new investors (less than six months) jumped from 23% to 62.8%, signaling a rapid wealth shift. However, since late February 2025, capital inflows have dipped significantly.

The primary reason is that investors are currently locking in fewer profits and staring at higher losses. This can be identified by the realized loss/profit ratio, which has constantly declined since 2025. Glassnode analysts said,

“Given the retail-dominated inflows and largely concentrated wealth in relatively new hands, this alludes to a condition where retail investor confidence in XRP may be slipping, and this may also be extended across the broader market.”

Besides weakening confidence among newer investors, the distribution of XRP among whale addresses reflects a similar trend. Data shows a steady increase in whale outflows since the start of 2025, suggesting that large holders have been consistently trimming their positions. Over the past 14 days, over $1 billion in positions were offloaded at an average price of $2.10.

Related: How many US dollars does XRP transfer per day?

Can XRP hold the $2 support?

XRP has found support at $2 multiple times over the past few weeks, but the chance of the altcoin dropping below this level increases with each retest.

However, on the lower time frame (LTF) of the 1-hour and 4-hour charts, a bullish divergence can be observed for XRP. A bullish divergence occurs when the price forms a lower low and the relative strength index (RSI) forms a lower high.

With a fair value gap between $2.08 and $2.13, XRP might see a relief rally into this range, especially if the wider crypto market undergoes an oversold bounce. On the higher time frame chart, XRP appears bearish due to the formation of an inverse head-and-shoulders pattern, with a measured target near $1.07.

There is a chance that the altcoin finds support from the 200-day moving average (orange line) around the $1.70 to $1.80 mark, but XRP price has not tested this level since Nov. 5, 2024.

Related: Bitcoin drops 8%, US markets shed $2T in value — Should traders expect an oversold bounce?

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

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Bitcoin (BTC) and US stock markets all sold off sharply after US President Donald Trump shook up financial markets by announcing a list of reciprocal tariffs on several countries.

On April 3, the S&P 500 saw a 4.2% drop at market open, its most significant single-day decline since June 2020. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 3.41%, to 40,785.41 from 42,225.32, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 5.23%. Overall, $1.6 trillion in value was wiped out from US stock at the market open.

Bitcoin’s value dropped by 8%, but a positive is bulls seem capable of defending the $80,000 support level. These steep declines essentially stem from uncertainty surrounding the new tariffs and amplify investors’ concerns about impending recession.

Data from CoinGecko suggests that the total crypto market has dropped 6.8% over the past 24 hours and it seems unlikely that a relief rally is viable in the short-term.

Related: Bitcoin price risks drop to $71K as Trump tariffs hurt US business outlook

Crypto liquidations soar to $573M

According to CoinGlass, in the past 24 hours, more than 200,000 traders were liquidated, with the total amount exceeding $573.4 million. The largest liquidation occurred on Binance, with an ETH/USDT position worth $11.97 million being force closed.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin’s open interest dropped below $50 billion, reducing market leverage. Joao Wedson, CEO of Alphractal, mentioned that the liquidation heatmaps indicate heavy leverage around $80,000, raising the potential for a potential drop to $64K-$65K if Bitcoin breaks this level with high trading volume.

Related: Trump ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs create chaos in markets, recession concerns

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

The post Bitcoin drops 8%, US markets shed $2T in value — Should traders expect an oversold bounce? appeared first on Crypto Spyder.

Bitcoin’s (BTC) price is off to a swift start in Q2, rallying by 5.53% to an intraday high of $87,333 on April 2. Currently, Bitcoin is emerging from a ten-week downtrend that began on Jan. 20 when the price peaked at $110,000.

A decisive close above the trendline might lead to continued bullish momentum for Bitcoin in the coming days.

Bitcoin spot traders drive the rally

Throughout March, spot traders on Binance and Coinbase held opposite stances in the market. Binance traders were aggressive BTC sellers, while Coinbase showed significant spot bids around the $80,000 price level. This dynamic contributed to the sideways price action during the majority of March.

Fast forward to April, and spot traders on major exchanges have collectively turned bullish over the past three days.

Data from aggr.trade highlights that Coinbase and Binance spot bids are driving positive action for BTC. The buying pressure is particularly high on Coinbase, with spot bids increasing as high as $7.98 million over the past few hours.

Likewise, Dom, a crypto markets analyst, pointed out that Bitcoin’s current rally is possibly due to Binance sellers tapering off. The analyst said,

“BTC has been able to breathe ever since the Binance selling tapered off. We are even seeing some spot buying from them for the first time in over a week.”

Related: Bitcoin breaks $86K as US tariff ‘Liberation Day’ risks 11% BTC price dip

Bitcoin flips key resistance at $84K to $85K

From a technical perspective, Bitcoin has flipped an important resistance range between $84,000 and $85,000 into support. Likewise, the cryptocurrency has attained a bullish position above the 50-day, 100-day and 200-day exponentially moving averages (EMAs).

However, based on the external liquidity levels between $87,700 and $88,700, which formed the previous highs, BTC prices might struggle to break this range immediately. Consolidation between the green box (as illustrated in the chart) is likely a net positive, which might fuel BTC’s $90,000 retest for the first time since March 7.

On the flip side, an immediate correction to the current support at $84,000 and $85,000 could possibly discourage bulls, and short sellers might take control of price action.

Bullish invalidation could be on the cards if BTC price closes below $85,000 over the next few days.

With markets bracing for further market volatility ahead of President Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs, Bitcoin price is expected to react further during today’s White House press conference at 4 pm Eastern Time.

Related: Bitcoin price can hit $250K in 2025 if Fed shifts to QE: Arthur Hayes

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

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