Bitcoin Slips Below $65K as Trump's New Tariffs Rattle Risk Assets

Bitcoin fell below $65,000 on Thursday after the Trump administration announced tariffs of 10% to 12.5% on imports from 60 trading partners, a list that covers more than 99% of U.S. trade. It traded as low as $64,985 before clawing briefly back above the line. crypto.news data showed the token down about 1.5% on the day, with market capitalization near $1.3 trillion.

Where leverage broke

The rebound didn't hold. Selling resumed once the tariff details landed, and short-interval charts stacked one bearish candle on the next. CoinGlass counted 62,869 traders liquidated over 24 hours, about $162 million in forced exits, with Coinalyze putting Bitcoin's slice near $28.7 million and most of it in longs. The drop erased a week that had carried $BTC toward $67,000 and a seven-week high on July 21. Stocks sank alongside it. The Nasdaq lost about 2.2% to a four-week low, and Al Jazeera reported Trump threatening a 'massive attack' on Iran as regional fighting went on.

The Fed math shifted

The labor print made it worse. Initial jobless claims fell by 22,000 to 187,000 in the week ending July 18, the lowest since September 1969, against the 212,000 economists surveyed by Reuters had expected. A tight jobs market gives the Federal Reserve less reason to cut. Interest-rate futures showed traders weighing a possible September hike, Reuters reported, as higher oil prices fed inflation worry. The 10-year Treasury yield climbed to about 4.70%, according to Investors Business Daily. When safe bonds pay more, they pull money away from Bitcoin.

What the tariffs do

The duties take effect at 12:01 a.m. ET on Friday, CNBC reported, replacing a temporary 10% global tariff set to expire that day. Washington imposed them under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, sidestepping the emergency powers the Supreme Court struck down in February. The USTR tied each rate to forced-labor enforcement: partial progress earns 10%, and partners it judged to be lagging, including China, India and Japan, face 12.5%. Crude oil, pharmaceuticals and rare earths are exempt, along with USMCA-compliant goods. For now, $65,000 is the number to watch. CoinGecko had $BTC just above it at the time of reporting, the line buyers have to defend.