Bitcoin BTC largely ignored a fresh wave of U.S. tariff headlines on Friday, approaching the $68,000 level as altcoins staged a modest rebound.
Supreme Court Strikes Down Prior Tariffs, Trump Imposes New Levy
The trading session kicked off with a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that declared President Trump's global tariff implementation illegal. The decision did not clarify the fate of already collected tariff revenue and does not necessarily mark the end of Trump's trade agenda—multiple legal and executive avenues remain. Later in the afternoon, Trump announced an additional 10% tariff on global imports under Section 122 of the Trade Act, set to last roughly five months and take effect in three days.
Notably, the new levy—stacked on top of existing tariffs—had little impact on market sentiment.
Risk Assets Edge Higher, Altcoins Outperform
Risk assets, including cryptocurrencies, rose modestly during the session. The broad-market CoinDesk 20 index gained 2.5% over the past 24 hours, led by BNB, DOGE, ADA, and Solana (SOL), which advanced between 3% and 4%. Bitcoin traded just below $68,000.
Traditional markets also firmed: the S&P 500 rose 0.9%, and the Nasdaq 100 added 0.7%. Among crypto-linked equities, Coinbase (COIN), Circle (CRCL), and Strategy (MSTR) each climbed more than 2%. Conversely, AI-infrastructure-related bitcoin miners underperformed, with Riot Platforms (RIOT), Cipher Mining (CIFR), IREN, and TeraWulf (WULF) falling 3% to 6%.
Analyst Warns of Range-Bound Trading Without Catalyst
Paul Howard, director at trading firm Wincent, attributed the small risk-asset rally to the tariff news fueling the narrative that tariffs are harmful to the macro environment. However, he believes conviction remains weak for a breakout from the current tight range. “Volumes remain moderate, and we can expect cryptos to trade range-bound for now,” Howard said, barring macro or geopolitical shocks. He flagged that one potential risk is Trump ordering strikes on Iran in the coming days, following weeks of significant military buildup in the region.