A two-month high was reached by Bitcoin on Friday as Donald Trump’s reported advancements in trade talks with China were weighed by investors.
Bitcoin’s price rose above $95,000 on Friday—marking its first time at that level since February—as investors evaluated whether the U.S. was making progress. President Donald Trump in trade discussions with China, following a perceived softening in his stance earlier this week.
According to data from CoinGecko, the leading cryptocurrency traded at $95,310, reflecting a nearly 2% increase over the previous 24 hours. Altcoins showed mixed performances—Ethereum rose by 2% to $1,800, while XRP declined by 0.7% to $2.20.
On Friday morning, Trump stated that he had held multiple conversations with Chinese President Xi Jinping following the announcement of sweeping tariffs against America’s largest trading partner. However, a day earlier, a spokesperson for China’s Commerce Ministry told the New York Times that no trade negotiations had taken place, suggesting that a deal was not currently being pursued.
Tariff Rollbacks Spark Market Optimism
On Friday, CNN reported that Beijing abandoned retaliatory tariffs on certain U.S. semiconductors, which previously carried a 125% duty.
Earlier this week, crypto prices surged alongside gains in U.S. stocks, as members of Trump’s administration—including U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent—signaled that the president’s trade war with China was unsustainable for both nations.
Aurelie Bathere, principal research analyst at crypto analytics firm Nansen, suggested that China’s move to roll back semiconductor tariffs—while considering exemptions on other goods such as medical equipment—could indicate that peak market uncertainty has passed.
She explained to Decrypt that China decided to initiate tariff exemptions on certain products due to the impact on some of its industries. However, she noted that markets would recover gradually and cautiously, given the persistent lack of trust between the U.S. and China during negotiations.
Broader Market Gains, But Consumer Sentiment Lags
The S&P 500 climbed 0.74% on Wall Street, while the tech-focused Nasdaq advanced 1.26%, according to Yahoo Finance. The indices approached weekly gains of 4.6% and 6.7%, although they had not yet regained the levels seen on April 2, when Trump announced ‘reciprocal’ tariffs against almost every country.
Although the University of Michigan revised its consumer sentiment reading for April upward on Friday, the index still fell for the fourth consecutive month and remained at its weakest level since July 2022. During that period, the Consumer Price Index pushed inflation close to a four-decade peak of 9.1%.
Juan Leon, senior investment strategist at crypto asset manager Bitwise, highlighted the possibility of increased uncertainty and told Decrypt that plummeting consumer sentiment remains one of the contributing factors.
Juan Leon pointed out Trump’s shifting stance, remarking that “wiffle-waffling” continued. He noted that Bloomberg reported Trump was unlikely to delay the implementation of reciprocal tariffs again on Friday.
He emphasized that true stability would come only after Trump signed formal agreements with key export partners, particularly China.
