The cryptocurrency market experienced a volatile start to the week, with Bitcoin (BTC) surrendering its weekend gains as macroeconomic pressures from U.S. trade policy took center stage. After briefly touching highs near $109,656 on Sunday, driven by optimistic comments from U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Bitcoin's price corrected downwards. By Monday afternoon in the U.S., BTC was trading at approximately $108,175, marking a 1.1% decline over 24 hours. The price action saw BTC test a low of $107,570, establishing a crucial short-term support level for traders to monitor. The broader market sentiment soured, mirroring losses in traditional equity markets, with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 both shedding around 1% as risk-off sentiment prevailed.

The catalyst for the market's reversal was President Trump's renewed focus on tariffs. Despite delaying a major trade deal deadline from July 9 to August 1, the administration issued letters to Japan and South Korea imposing 25% tariffs effective August 1. Furthermore, a social media post from the President threatened additional levies on nations aligning with BRICS countries, amplifying global trade tensions. According to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, more announcements regarding tariffs or trade agreements are imminent. This uncertainty directly impacted risk assets, including cryptocurrencies. Ethereum (ETH) followed Bitcoin's trajectory, falling over 2% to trade around $2,535 after reaching a 24-hour high of $2,603.59. Other major altcoins like Solana (SOL) saw a more significant drop of nearly 3% to $148.52.

Bitcoin and Altcoin Technical Levels Amid Tariff News

From a trading perspective, the recent price action highlights critical levels for major cryptocurrencies. For Bitcoin, the failure to hold the $109,000 level and the subsequent drop below $108,000 signals bearish pressure. The 24-hour low of $107,570 now acts as immediate support. A break below this could open the door for a retest of lower psychological levels. On the upside, reclaiming the $109,650 resistance is necessary for bulls to regain control. The ETH/BTC pair also showed slight weakness, dipping 0.38% to 0.02363, indicating that Bitcoin was holding its value slightly better than Ethereum during the downturn.

XRP Outperforms While Other Altcoins Falter

Interestingly, XRP managed to buck the negative trend, displaying notable relative strength. While most of the market was in the red, XRP posted gains of over 2% at one point before settling around $2.27, down a marginal 0.19% over 24 hours. Its 24-hour high reached $2.35, demonstrating buyer interest even amid broader market fear. This outperformance could be attributed to factors specific to its ecosystem or traders rotating capital into an asset perceived as having a different risk profile. In contrast, tokens like Solana (SOL) and Sui (SUI) experienced declines between 1-2%, aligning more closely with the general market mood. The divergence underscores the importance of monitoring individual asset performance rather than relying solely on Bitcoin's price movement, presenting unique pair-trading opportunities for astute investors, such as long XRP against a short SOL or ETH position.

The weekend's initial optimism stemmed from an interview where Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent hinted at finalizing several trade deals. Speaking to CNN, Bessent suggested that the administration was leveraging the August 1 deadline to expedite negotiations, a development that markets initially cheered. According to a Reuters report on the interview, Bessent stated the President would be sending letters to partners, giving them a choice to finalize deals or revert to higher tariff levels. This news propelled Bitcoin above $109,000 and lifted altcoins like Dogecoin (DOGE) by 3%. However, the aggressive tariff actions on Monday quickly overshadowed this optimism, reminding traders that geopolitical and macroeconomic news remains a powerful, and often unpredictable, driver of cryptocurrency market volatility. Investors will now be closely watching for further communications from the White House and the reaction in both equity and crypto markets.