Donald Trump has announced sweeping new tariffs, triggering a sharp reaction in financial markets. The US will impose: - A minimum 10% tariff on all imports except for goods from Canada and Mexico specified in the USMCA agreement - 25% tariff on foreign automobiles
Additional country-specific tariffs: - 31% on Switzerland, 20% on the EU, 10% on the UK - 34% (additional, totalling 54%) on China, 24% on Japan, 32% on Taiwan - 46% on Vietnam, 30% on South Africa, 49% on Cambodia
The 10% base tariff will take effect on April 5, retaliatory tariffs on April 9, and auto tariffs are in effect from today.
Trump emphasized a "reciprocal rate" approach, aiming to counter both monetary and non-monetary trade barriers used by other nations. The market reacted negatively, especially the tech sector, after Trump stated that major companies like Apple and Nvidia must relocate production back to the US. Investors fear these policies will reduce free cash flow due to heavy domestic investment requirements. Stock market in the Asia-Pacific region is deep in the red, and despite Wall Street closing yesterday’s session in the green, the announcement triggered a sell-off in after-hours trading.
Anticipation surrounding "Liberation Day" and the expected retaliatory tariffs has finally come to a head. However, the week isn’t over for markets, important economic data is still to come, with key releases including services sector PMI reports and US jobless claims, offering a glimpse into the labor market ahead of Friday’s Non-Farm Payrolls report.
The global crypto market cap decreased 1.48% in the past 24h to $2.67tn. The total crypto market 24h volume increased 62.97% to $130.07bn.
In the past 24 hours, crypto liquidations increased by 68.80%, totalling $486.06m, with 52.3% of them long positions and 47.7% short positions. Almost 37% of all liquidated positions were BTC positions.
According to data from Farside Investors, US Bitcoin spot ETFs saw strong net inflows, despite BlackRock’s IBIT recording significant outflows of $115.9 million. These were outweighed by inflows of $118.8 million into Fidelity’s FBTC and $130.2 million into Ark’s ARKB, with an additional $49.7 million combined flowing into Grayscale's Bitcoin Mini Trust ETF (BTC), VanEck's HODL and Franklin's EZBC, resulting in a substantial net positive flow overall amounting to $218.1 million, effectively offsetting the previous two trading sessions' outflows of $218.4 million ($157.8m+$60.6m on 1 Apr and 31 Mar 2025). Meanwhile, ETH ETFs saw a surge in outflows, more than thirteen times higher than the previous trading session which ended in net outflows of $3.6m, amounting to $51.3m on April 2.
Franklin Templeton, the global asset management giant with over $1.5 trillion in AUM, is considering launching Bitcoin and crypto ETPs in Europe.
The FDUSD stablecoin briefly depegged by 10% on April 2 after Tron founder Justin Sun claimed its issuer, First Digital, was insolvent. In response, First Digital firmly denied the allegations, stating that FDUSD remains fully backed and redeemable 1:1 with the US dollar, with reserves held in US-backed Treasury Bills. They clarified that the ongoing dispute actually involves TrueUSD (TUSD), not FDUSD. First Digital also announced plans to take legal action against Sun, accusing him of launching a smear campaign to undermine a competitor.
According to a post by crypto analyst Ali Martinez (@ali_charts on X), the number of large ETH transactions has declined by 63.8% since Feb 25, signaling a drop in whale activity on the network.
Fidelity has launched new retirement accounts that allow Americans to invest in Bitcoin, Ether, and Litecoin with minimal fees, signaling a broader shift in the US toward integrating crypto into retirement planning, alongside the rise of Bitcoin ETFs, crypto-specific IRAs, and growing political support for including crypto in 401(k)s.
Galaxy Digital, a New York-based financial services firm focused on digital assets, has received regulatory approval from the UK’s FCA for its UK subsidiary to offer derivatives trading from its London office. The license also enables Galaxy to expand investment banking and asset management services in the region.
The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), a US firm that provides clearing, settlement, and trade reporting for financial markets, will debut a new blockchain-based collateral management platform on April 23 during a live demo called "The Great Collateral Experiment". Built on DTCC’s Digital Launchpad and using Besu blockchain technology, the platform tokenizes collateral to enable real-time movement, improve liquidity, and connect traditional and digital assets. DTCC aims for it to become a global standard and plans to work with regulators to support broader adoption.
