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Bitcoin Down 2.5% as China Slaps Retaliatory Tariffs on U.S., Probes Google

The move came after U.S. President Donald Trump's new 10% tariffs on China came into effect.

Updated Feb 4, 2025, 5:56 a.m. Published Feb 4, 2025, 5:46 a.m.
China. (Excellentcc/Pixabay)
China. (Excellentcc/Pixabay)

What to know:

  • China slaps retaliatory tariffs on U.S., keeping trade war fears alive.
  • BTC, Nasdaq futures drop while the dollar draws haven bids.

and Nasdaq futures faced renewed selling pressure during Asia trading hours on Tuesday as China imposed retaliatory tariffs against the U.S.

China also announced an antitrust probe into Google, while moving clothing firm PVH Corp and biotechnology firm Illumina to the list of unreliable entities.

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Beijing imposed a 15% duty on U.S. coal and LNG and a 10% tax on crude oil, agricultural machinery, pickup trucks and large-engine cars. The move came after U.S. President Donald Trump's new 10% tariffs on China came into effect.

On Monday, Trump agreed to a 30-day pause on his tariff threats against Mexico and Canada, offering a relief to BTC. The cryptocurrency's price staged a remarkable recovery from nearly $92,000 to over $102,000 in hopes that the trade war would be short-lived.

China's fresh action, however, has dented the recovery, sending BTC down to $98,500 at press time. The Nasdaq futures are down 0.6% with the dollar index drawing safe haven bids.

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Solana CME futures first-day activity compared to BTC and ETH debuts. (CME/K33 Research)

When adjusted for asset market capitalization SOL's relative futures volume looks better, K33 Research noted.

What to know:

  • Solana's SOL futures began trading on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) on Monday, with a notional daily volume of $12.3 million and $7.8 million in open interest, significantly lower than the debuts of bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) futures.
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