Bitcoin Nears Death Cross, Yuan Plummets Alongside Asian Markets Following Donald Trump's Tariffs

This is a day to avoid risks in Asia as traders pay attention to Beijing's response to the retaliatory tariff order imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump on China and other Asian countries. On Wednesday, Trump announced reciprocal tariffs on imported goods from 180 countries, including higher tariffs on trading partners identified as the most serious violators, such as China and the European Union. Trump imposes a new 34% tariff on goods from China in addition to the current 20% tariff, raising the total tariff to 54%, the highest for any country. Meanwhile, the latest action does not affect Canada and Mexico. Observers believe that the ball is currently in China's court and the nature of the retaliatory move could determine the market's reaction. "Everything currently depends on China. If China devalues the Renminbi in response to the current large additional tariffs from the United States, it will trigger a wave of global risk, first affecting emerging markets and then - if this situation continues - spreading to the United States. So far, China has maintained a very quiet attitude. That may now come to an end," Robin Brooks, CEO and chief economist at the Institute of International Finance, said on X.

On Thursday morning, Beijing urged the United States to lift tariffs while declaring it would retaliate immediately. Meanwhile, China's yuan dropped to a seven-week low of 7 RMB/USD along with a decline in Asian stocks and an imminent death cross for bitcoin (BTC). To devalue the renminbi, making Chinese goods more attractive in the international market, is one way to counter Trump's tariffs. However, this could create problems for the currency exchange arbitrage ( and make the financial markets fearful, as seen in 2015 and 2018. In addition, the potential intervention of the People's Bank of China )PBoC( to stop the rapid decline of the yuan could boost the dollar index, inadvertently putting pressure on risk assets, including stocks and cryptocurrencies. It is no coincidence that Asian stocks are trading in the red as the media reports, with Japan's Nikkei hitting its lowest level in eight months. U.S. stock futures are down more than 2%, reflecting a risk-averse mood. Bitcoin )BTC(, the leading cryptocurrency by market value, is trading at nearly $83,300, down from $88,000 to $82,500 following Trump's tax announcement, according to market data from CoinDesk. The simple moving average )SMA( of the spot price of this cryptocurrency appears to be on track to cross below the 200-day SMA, confirming a bearish technical pattern known as the "death cross."

Despite having an uneven track record in predicting price trends, the latest intersection occurs against the backdrop of escalating trade tensions that deserves attention - especially as current option prices indicate a bias towards put options or downside protection until the end of June, according to Deribit and Amberdata.