Key Takeaways:
The Trump administration's sweeping new tariff regime, covering 60 countries and more than 99% of US trade, pushed Bitcoin below the $65,000 threshold for the first time in a week.
Bitcoin fell 1.2% to $64,900 after the Trump administration unveiled tariffs of 10% to 12.5% on imports from 60 countries, effective July 24 at midnight Eastern Time.
"The new Section 301 duties replace the temporary 10% global tariff that expires this week and target alleged forced-labor concerns across a broad range of imports," a senior US trade official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The selloff extended a fragile recovery that had lifted Bitcoin roughly 13% from its late-June low near $58,000. On-chain data from Glassnode shows unrealized profit across the network collapsed from about $1.4 trillion at the October 2025 peak to roughly $400 billion by late June — the lowest reading of the cycle. While July brought some relief, with unrealized profit recovering to about $500 billion, the metric remains well below its spring high near $580 billion. The 30-day options delta skew on Deribit stood at 13% as of Monday, meaning put options continued to trade at a premium relative to calls as whales and market makers hedged for further downside.
The $69,500 level — the short-term holder cost basis tracked by Glassnode — now represents the first major resistance for bulls to reclaim. A break above that threshold would return most recent buyers to profit, a shift that has historically marked the start of recovery phases. On the downside, the realized price of $52,900 serves as the last major on-chain support; losing it would signal a deeper bear market, with one projection pointing to a potential fourth-quarter bottom near $44,000.
$420 million in leverage unwound as funding rates turn neutral
The tariff announcement triggered a wave of liquidations across major exchanges. Open interest across Bitcoin futures fell as long positions were forced to unwind, with the perpetual futures annualized funding rate dropping to a neutral 8% — flat from a week earlier and well below the 12% threshold that indicates excessive demand for bullish leverage, according to Coinglass data. The muted funding rate suggests traders are reluctant to add directional bets while trade policy uncertainty persists.
Spot demand tells a more concerning story. The 30-day sum of spot demand has remained negative all year and is now contracting by about 200,000 BTC per month, according to CryptoQuant. Total demand collapsed to nearly minus 550,000 BTC in early June, the worst reading of 2026. Rallies built on leverage without spot absorption have historically proven fragile.
Strategy and institutional players feel the pinch
Shares of Strategy, the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, fell 4% in Thursday morning trading even as the company announced it had raised $263 million in cash through an at-the-market stock offering, easing near-term concerns about its ability to service its $1.76 billion annual dividend payout. The company also joined a consortium including BlackRock, Coinbase and Fidelity that committed $15 million over three years to fund Bitcoin developer research and post-quantum cryptography.
The broader crypto market tracked Bitcoin lower. Ethereum fell 1.8% to $3,412, while the CoinDesk 20 Index declined 1.5%. Bitcoin's dominance rate edged up to 54.3%, reflecting the typical flight to relative safety during macro shocks.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
