XRP, Bitcoin Plummet. Why Trump Tariffs Are Dragging Down Cryptos. — Barrons.com

By George GloverBitcoin, XRP, and other cryptocurrencies were among the assets tumbling on Monday. Investors in the digital currencies can blame President Donald Trump for their losses.Bitcoin fell 3.3% to $94,507 in early trading, according to data from CoinDesk. The world's largest token by total market capitalization was trading above $105,000 Friday.XRP, another large-cap token that is used to settle and facilitate transactions on Ripple Labs' digital payments platform, slumped 12% to $2.29, having traded above $3 Friday.Ethereum fell 12%, Solana dropped 3.6%, and Dogecoin — a so-called meme token that's been touted in the past by Trump ally Elon Musk — tumbled 6.5% to about 25 cents."This is the one sector that trades 24/7, which means market participants have a vehicle to dump risk," Trade Nation analyst David Morrison said.Cryptos plunged after Trump imposed 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico and 10% levies on China on Saturday. Canada announced retaliatory 25% tariffs on the U.S. on Monday; Mexico said they plan to impose tariffs on the U.S., too. China said it would take "necessary countermeasures" and that it would lodge a complaint with the World Trade Organization.The headlines sparked a global market selloff on Monday.Crypto-related stocks were feeling the pain, too. Shares of Robinhood Markets tumbled 3.7% on Monday, while Coinbase Global dropped 5.4% and Block was down 2.7%.The drop in digital-asset prices is part of a broader pattern: While tokens soared after Trump won the presidential election on Nov. 5, they have been trading roughly in tandem with stocks since he took office last month.Bitcoin's "recent performance highlights growing sensitivity to global economic events," Bitget Research analyst Ryan Lee said. "The current reaction underscores how geopolitical tensions and policy decisions are increasingly shaping cryptocurrency market dynamics."Write to George Glover at [email protected] content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.