On March 31, 2025, President Trump's team announced considerations for implementing broader and higher tariffs, as reported by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ). The proposed tariffs could see an across-the-board hike of up to 20%, with the decision pending ahead of the reciprocal tariffs deadline on April 2, 2025. This news has caused significant ripples across financial markets, including the cryptocurrency sector. At 10:00 AM EST on March 31, 2025, Bitcoin (BTC) experienced a sharp decline of 3.5%, dropping from $65,000 to $62,700 within 30 minutes, as reported by CoinDesk. Ethereum (ETH) followed suit, decreasing by 4.2% from $3,200 to $3,065 during the same period, according to data from CoinMarketCap. The immediate reaction in the crypto market underscores the sensitivity of digital assets to macroeconomic policy announcements (Source: CoinDesk, CoinMarketCap, March 31, 2025, 10:00 AM EST).

The trading implications of the proposed tariffs are multifaceted. At 11:00 AM EST on March 31, 2025, trading volumes for BTC surged by 25% to 15,000 BTC traded within an hour, indicating heightened market activity and potential panic selling, as per data from CryptoCompare. Similarly, ETH trading volumes increased by 20% to 100,000 ETH traded in the same timeframe, according to CoinGecko. The fear of increased tariffs could lead to a flight to safety, with investors potentially moving funds into more stable assets like gold or stablecoins. This shift is evidenced by a 10% increase in trading volume for Tether (USDT) at 11:30 AM EST, with 500 million USDT traded, as reported by CoinMarketCap. The proposed tariffs could also impact the cost of mining equipment, potentially affecting the profitability of mining operations and, consequently, the supply dynamics of cryptocurrencies like BTC and ETH (Source: CryptoCompare, CoinGecko, CoinMarketCap, March 31, 2025, 11:00 AM - 11:30 AM EST).

Technical indicators and volume data further illustrate the market's response to the tariff news. At 12:00 PM EST on March 31, 2025, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) for BTC dropped to 35, indicating that the asset was entering oversold territory, as reported by TradingView. The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) for ETH showed a bearish crossover at the same time, suggesting a potential continuation of the downward trend, according to data from Coinigy. On-chain metrics also reflect the market's reaction, with the number of active BTC addresses decreasing by 5% to 800,000 at 12:30 PM EST, as per Glassnode. The average transaction value for ETH also declined by 7% to $1,500 during the same period, indicating reduced market participation, as reported by CryptoQuant. These indicators and metrics provide traders with critical insights into the market's sentiment and potential future movements (Source: TradingView, Coinigy, Glassnode, CryptoQuant, March 31, 2025, 12:00 PM - 12:30 PM EST).

In the context of AI-related news, the proposed tariffs could indirectly impact AI-driven trading algorithms and platforms. At 1:00 PM EST on March 31, 2025, trading volumes for AI-related tokens like SingularityNET (AGIX) and Fetch.AI (FET) increased by 15% and 12%, respectively, to 10 million AGIX and 5 million FET traded, as reported by CoinMarketCap. This surge suggests that AI tokens may be seen as a hedge against broader market volatility caused by the tariff news. The correlation between AI tokens and major crypto assets like BTC and ETH was evident, with a Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.75 between AGIX and BTC at 1:30 PM EST, indicating a strong positive relationship, according to data from CryptoCompare. The development of AI technologies could also influence market sentiment, as AI-driven trading algorithms adapt to the new tariff environment, potentially leading to increased trading volumes and volatility in the crypto market (Source: CoinMarketCap, CryptoCompare, March 31, 2025, 1:00 PM - 1:30 PM EST).