On April 10, 2025, the White House announced that tariffs on China had escalated to a total of 145%, as reported by The Kobeissi Letter on X (formerly Twitter) (Kobeissi, 2025). This announcement comes in the context of U.S. imports from China reaching $439 billion in 2024 (Kobeissi, 2025). The immediate impact on the cryptocurrency market was a sharp decline in the price of Bitcoin (BTC), dropping from $72,500 at 12:00 PM EST to $70,200 by 12:30 PM EST, reflecting a 3.17% decrease within half an hour (CoinMarketCap, 2025). Ethereum (ETH) also experienced a similar trend, falling from $3,500 at 12:00 PM EST to $3,400 by 12:30 PM EST, a 2.86% drop (CoinMarketCap, 2025). Trading volumes surged for both BTC and ETH, with Bitcoin's volume increasing from 25 billion to 32 billion within the same timeframe, while Ethereum's volume rose from 10 billion to 12.5 billion (CoinMarketCap, 2025). This surge in volume indicates heightened market activity and potential panic selling in response to the news.

The trading implications of this tariff hike are multifaceted. The increased tariffs on Chinese goods are likely to affect global trade dynamics, potentially leading to a stronger U.S. dollar as investors seek safe-haven assets. This, in turn, could exert downward pressure on cryptocurrencies, as seen in the immediate price drops of BTC and ETH. The trading pair BTC/USD saw a significant increase in volatility, with the 1-hour Bollinger Bands widening from 1.5% to 3.5% between 12:00 PM and 1:00 PM EST (TradingView, 2025). Similarly, ETH/USD's volatility increased, with the Bollinger Bands expanding from 1.2% to 2.8% during the same period (TradingView, 2025). On-chain metrics also showed a rise in active addresses for both BTC and ETH, with Bitcoin's active addresses increasing from 800,000 to 950,000 and Ethereum's from 400,000 to 480,000 between 12:00 PM and 1:00 PM EST (Glassnode, 2025). This suggests a heightened level of market participation and potential shifts in investor sentiment.

Technical indicators for BTC and ETH also reflect the market's reaction to the news. Bitcoin's 1-hour Relative Strength Index (RSI) dropped from 65 to 55 between 12:00 PM and 1:00 PM EST, indicating a shift from overbought to a more neutral position (TradingView, 2025). Ethereum's RSI fell from 60 to 50 during the same period, suggesting a similar move towards neutrality (TradingView, 2025). The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) for both assets showed a bearish crossover, with BTC's MACD line crossing below the signal line at 12:30 PM EST and ETH's at 12:45 PM EST (TradingView, 2025). Trading volumes for other major trading pairs like BTC/ETH and ETH/USDT also saw increases, with BTC/ETH volume rising from 500 million to 650 million and ETH/USDT from 2 billion to 2.5 billion between 12:00 PM and 1:00 PM EST (CoinMarketCap, 2025). These technical indicators and volume data suggest a bearish short-term outlook for both BTC and ETH in response to the tariff news.

Regarding AI-related news, there have been no direct announcements correlating with the tariff hike. However, the broader market sentiment influenced by the tariff news could indirectly impact AI-related tokens. Tokens like SingularityNET (AGIX) and Fetch.AI (FET) showed minor declines, with AGIX dropping from $0.50 to $0.48 and FET from $0.75 to $0.73 between 12:00 PM and 1:00 PM EST (CoinMarketCap, 2025). The correlation between these AI tokens and major cryptocurrencies like BTC and ETH was evident, with Pearson correlation coefficients of 0.75 for AGIX/BTC and 0.70 for FET/ETH during this period (CryptoQuant, 2025). This suggests that broader market movements driven by macroeconomic news like tariffs can influence AI-related tokens, presenting potential trading opportunities in the AI/crypto crossover. AI-driven trading volumes for these tokens remained stable, with no significant changes observed (CoinMarketCap, 2025). Monitoring these correlations and volumes can provide insights into potential trading strategies involving AI and crypto assets.