The price of Bitcoin (BTC) has plummeted following new statements regarding China by US President Donald Trump.
In a message released this Friday, the president warned that the government was considering “significant increases in tariffs” on Chinese goods. The warning reignited concerns about a trade war between the world’s two largest economies.
Mr Trump said: China has become ‘very hostile’ He said he had written to other countries to announce export restrictions on rare earths, which are key materials for technology production. He said such measures could “crowd the market” and that his administration would respond with fiscal measures.
“I never thought this would happen, but maybe the time has come,” he wrote. He also declared that ‘There is no reason’ to meet with President Xi Jinpingcanceled a meeting scheduled for the APEC summit in South Korea.
Following this message, Bitcoin fell from $122,000 to $117,000 in minutes, a drop of nearly 4%. At the time of publishing this article, the digital currency is trading at $118,074, according to the CriptoNoticias price calculator.
Other assets and stocks followed suit, including the Nasdaq index, which fell more than 600 points to 24,490.
Generally, the market interprets statements as follows: Possibility of long-term tensions between the US and Chinainvestors are reducing their exposure to assets considered “risky” such as BTC, cryptocurrencies, and technology stocks.
