Bitcoin’s price remained around $95,000 while U.S. stocks fell as President Trump aired frustrations over trade negotiations. With altcoins like Ethereum and Solana seeing slight decline, investors await a Federal Reserve meeting and economic projections, eyeing a possible interest rate cut amid ongoing tariff discussions.
Bitcoin pricing was stable on Tuesday, trading at about $95,000, even as U.S. stocks faced further declines. This downturn coincided with President Donald Trump expressing frustration about ongoing trade negotiations. The cryptocurrency’s performance remained largely unchanged over the last day, based on figures from CoinGecko, while most altcoins, including Ethereum and Solana, saw minor dips of 2% and 1.5%, respectively.
During a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Trump noticeably pushed back against mounting investor anticipation for prompt trade deals. He was quoted saying, “Everyone says, ‘when, when, when are you going to sign deals?’ We don’t have to sign deals, they have to sign deals with us.” Trump’s comments underline his hard stance on tariffs and trade partnerships as discussions continue to drag on.
Remarkably, discussions about deals with the likes of India and Japan have been hinted at by members of Trump’s cabinet, yet, as of now, no concrete agreements have materialised. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent admitted during Congressional testimony that negotiations with several affected nations are in progress but noted that China has not yet engaged in talks with the U.S., despite earlier assumptions.
Bessent mentioned, “There are 18 very important trading relationships. We are currently negotiating with 17 of those trading partners. China, we have not engaged in negotiations with, as of yet.” This distancing from China raises questions about future negotiations that could impact trade and economies globally.
The stock markets continued their downward spiral, having broken a nine-day winning streak just the day before. Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq saw falls of 0.4%, indicating investor unease ahead of a critical meeting by the Federal Reserve scheduled for the following day. Observers anticipate that the Fed will maintain its benchmark interest rate but will also be releasing projections for key indicators including inflation and unemployment rates.
Katalin Tischhauser, head of research at digital asset banking entity Sygnum, pointed out that the Fed’s decisions might be influenced more by recent economic data preceding Trump’s significant tariff announcements. She remarked that a the contraction seen in the GDP may not incite decisive action from the Fed, as imports have been preemptively increased, creating an inflated perspective of the economic situation.
Currently, market perspectives suggest there is only a 31% likelihood of the Fed cutting interest rates, a move that hasn’t happened since December. However, these odds could shift with remarks from Fed Chair Jerome Powell at the upcoming meeting, adding an element of unpredictability to the market conditions.
