On February 1, President Trump signed a decree imposing a 25% tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico, but then postponed it for 30 days waiting for feedback from the two countries on smuggling of fentanyl and human trafficking activities into the US. After the postponement, this tax rate will officially be implemented from today, March 4.
Speaking at the White House yesterday afternoon, Mr. Trump emphasized a tough stance that will not cut tariffs on the two neighboring countries.
In addition, President Trump has imposed an additional 10% tax on imports from China, raising the total tax rate for the country to 20%, to control the illegal drug crisis.
Immediately after this statement, the US stock market plummeted, leading to a sell-off in the cryptocurrency market.
The S&P 500 recorded the worst day of 2025.
By 9:00 a.m. this morning Vietnam time, Bitcoin (BTC) had dropped from $95,000 to $82,752, erasing the previous day's increase thanks to news of President Trump establishing a national cryptocurrency reserve fund including BTC, ETH, XRP, SOL and ADA.
Ethereum (ETH) also fell from $2,550 to $2,018, or $2,018 in the past 24 hours. Red covered the entire altcoin market, with a downward range of almost all of over 15%.
In just the past 24 hours, the total cryptographic market capitalization has "evaporated" by 15% to just 2.8 trillion USD, approaching the lowest level since November 2021.
The Fear and greed index is at 15 - "extremely scared", even more unstable than on February 28, when Bitcoin "crossed" the 80,000 USD mark for the first time since November 2024.
The US's application of new tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China not only causes negative fluctuations in the traditional financial market but also strongly affects the cryptocurrency market.
This move could lead to escalating trade tensions and negatively impact global economic growth. Investors need to be cautious and closely monitor the situation to make reasonable decisions.
In Vietnam, representatives of the State Bank have repeatedly sent out the message: Bitcoin and other similar virtual currencies are not legal currencies and payment methods.
However, in the recently issued Directive No. 05/CT-TTg, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh directed the Ministry of Finance and the State Bank to submit a proposal for a legal framework on digital currency in March.
