Investors reacted favorably to the president’s statement that tariffs on China “will decrease significantly.”
Bitcoin continued to build on Tuesday’s gains, despite a brief dip earlier Wednesday following the Trump Administration’s latest shift on trade policy.
The leading cryptocurrency was recently priced around $93,400, marking a 2.2% increase over the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinGecko. Earlier in the day, it had dropped close to $92,000.
Ethereum increased by 5.3% to $1,780, while Solana rose 4% to $150.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that President Donald Trump has not made a unilateral offer to reduce tariffs on China, which can reach as high as 245% on some goods, according to Bloomberg. He also noted that it may take years to finalize an agreement.
Bessent’s stance on China seemed to mark a shift from the previous day, when he reportedly stated at a closed-door investor summit that a deal with China could be imminent and that Trump’s trade war was unsustainable for both parties.
From the Oval Office, President Trump told reporters on Wednesday that tariffs on China “will decrease significantly, but they won’t be eliminated,” according to Fox Business. While he did not specify the new tariff rates, he expressed confidence that a deal could “work out very well.”
Trump and Bessent’s recent comments have offered significant relief to investors, according to Aurelie Barthere, principal research analyst at on-chain analytics platform Nansen. However, she warned Decrypt that volatility may rise again as negotiations with China progress.
“It feels like we’ve reached the peak of tariff-related fear,” she said. “While many are still unsure about the next month or so, it seems like markets were simply waiting for any sign that we’re back on track.”
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 rose by 1.8%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq soared 2.6%, according to Yahoo Finance. Strategy’s stock gained 1%, reaching $346, and Coinbase climbed 2.6% to $195 after receiving a buy rating from investment banking firm Benchmark.
Despite significant outflows from spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds due to Trump’s fluctuating stance on tariffs, they experienced “the strongest daily intake” since January 17, according to Jake Ostrovskis, an OTC trader at market maker Wintermute, in a Wednesday note.
Investors invested $913 million into spot Bitcoin ETFs, with the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB) leading the charge, attracting $267 million, according to crypto data provider CoinGlass. This was just $200,000 short of the ETF’s best day in mid-November.
