Global policymakers struck a cautious tone amid central bank meetings this week, highlighting economic and political uncertainty. The US Federal Reserve, Bank of Japan, and Bank of England all kept interest rates unchanged, citing trade tensions and inflation risks.
Uncertainty deepened as US President Donald Trump prepared to impose new reciprocal tariffs on April 2, adding to fears of a potential economic slowdown. Meanwhile, reports of Israeli airstrikes on Gaza and a Ukrainian drone attack on a Russian military airfield further fueled geopolitical concerns, driving investors toward safe-haven assets.
Crypto Tracker
As of 1:10 pm IST, Bitcoin was down 2.3% at $83,819, while Ethereum slipped nearly 2% to $1,968. The global crypto market cap declined 2% to $2.75 trillion in the past 24 hours.On Thursday, Trump addressed the Blockworks Digital Assets Summit in New York via a prerecorded message, reiterating his commitment to positioning the US as a leader in the crypto space. He pledged to remove restrictive regulations and urged Congress to establish clear rules for stablecoins and digital asset markets.
“Bitcoin and the broader crypto market saw a slight pull back even as Trump addressed a crypto conference,” said Vikram Subburaj, CEO of Giottus. “Despite his pro-crypto stance, the lack of concrete policy announcements kept sentiment cautious.”Edul Patel, CEO and Co-founder of Mudrex, noted, “Trump reinforced his pro-crypto stance, advocating for stablecoin legislation, but Bitcoin has yet to gain enough momentum for a breakout.””Bulls have defended the $80,000 level for six days, signaling strong support,” Patel added.
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Among altcoins, XRP fell 3%, Solana dropped 4.6%, Cardano was down 2.5%, and Dogecoin fell 3.5%. Chainlink, Avalanche, Hedera, and Stellar declined between 2% and 4%.
Bitcoin’s market capitalization declined to $1.66 trillion, with dominance at 60.6%. Its 24-hour trading volume surged by 32% to $25.5 billion, while stablecoin volumes accounted for 98.43% of total crypto trading at $74 billion, according to CoinMarketCap.
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(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of the Economic Times)