Bitcoin held its ground over the weekend as US President Donald Trump said late Saturday that he was raising the newly announced global tax from 10% to 15% and that the new rate would take effect immediately.
The move came after the US Supreme Court ruled to curtail the legal authority previously used to impose broad import tariffs.
Bitcoin Is Immobile
Cryptocurrencies did not budge on the news. Bitcoin hovered around the $68,000 mark while Ether showed little change, and smaller tokens lost less than 1% in the mix according to market trackers. Reports note that traders saw little volatility before prices dropped, suggesting the shock was short-lived.
Legal Limits and What They Mean
Based on reports, the transition to alternative trade rules limits how far the president can go with such spending. The provisions cited allow for a temporary tariff of up to 15% and generally apply to countries where the US runs a trade deficit for a fixed period of up to 150 days.
Legal experts say those constraints could keep the measure from being a permanent increase in tariffs on imports.
Trump said on his Real Social forum:
“As President of the United States of America, I will act immediately, raising the global tax of 10% in countries, many of which have been ‘taking out’ the US for decades, without retaliation, until I have reached, the level that is fully allowed, and legally assessed, 15%.”
How Traders May Think
Some investors seem to have taken the announcement as a headline rather than the start of a permanent economic shock.
Volume patterns did not show continued selling pressure, and risk appetite in the crypto markets quickly returned. Reports say an earlier court ruling, which limited the executive branch’s emergency powers, may have removed the uncertainty – at least for now.
Market watchers will be watching closely in the coming days. If the White House tries to extend the temporary authority or expand the list of targeted countries, that could change the tone in both crypto and equity markets.
The Bigger Economic Picture
Raising taxes across the board, or temporarily, raises questions about the costs to businesses and consumers.
Import duties are often driven down the chain by higher prices or tighter margins, and international trading partners may push back on diplomatic and legal grounds.
Some foreign leaders and industry groups quickly criticized the move, warning that it could slow growth and increase consumer debt.
Far from a market-destroying shock, the episode so far reads like a policy deficit with limited immediate market impact.
That could change if the measure is stretched beyond the legal limits advocates and courts have pointed to. For now, crypto traders seem to have chosen to watch and wait while prices remain close to recent highs.
Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView
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