Uncertainty reigns
What's being bought and sold*
TOP TRENDING ASSETS
*Trading activity in the past 24 hours on the Uphold platform, as of 8 a.m. 9th April 2025.
The combined total of buy and sell percentages can exceed 100% due to customers who engage in both buying and selling the same asset within the 24-hour time frame.
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What’s up
Trade War Escalates
The U.S. dramatically hiked its tariffs on China which responded by dramatically raising tariffs on the U.S. Tit/tat trade policy volleys have become, as the New York Times put it, "a risky game of chicken with no off-ramp in sight."
As of 8:19 a.m. (EST), Bitcoin firmly gripped a $76K handle after slipping 4%. BTC spent the better part of last night in the vicinity of $78K but that was before China's Ministry of Finance raised tariffs on American goods from 34% to 84%. This was after President Trump upped total levies on Chinese goods to 104%.
Despite the ominous environment (knives falling, dead cats bouncing, Elon Musk seething), U.S. Treasury yields have jumped inexplicably higher.
That's right, earlier today, with everything — crypto, stocks, bonds, oil, gold — losing value in lockstep, the 10-year yield actually momentarily spiked to 4.45%, or where it was prior to the tariff plan announcement of April 2. Treasuries dumping? Well, that's odd for a time of strife and very little clarity as to what comes next. Although it certainly has Wall Street worried (CNBC).
What's down
Digital Assets Having An Awful Week
Total crypto assets started yesterday at roughly $2.6 trillion. Today, that mark is $2.5 trillion. An escalating trade war is taking its toll on risk assets, including crypto. Ethereum in particular is a profile in frailty, down 22% in the past week to $1,460, its lowest level in two years.
Checking on the other standard bearers of the Big Ten bracket, we see XRP, Solana, Cardano and Dogecoin all have declined 14%-17% since last Wednesday.
Bitcoin fell 9% in that same weekly period. Since Inauguration Day, BTC is down roughly 30% as trade tension has overshadowed profound regulatory changes and a weakening dollar.
Just after the opening bell, as of 9:37 a.m. (EST), and amidst news that the EU was putting on retaliatory tariffs, the bellwether Dow Jones Industrial Average opened (only) down 200 points in something of a relief.
What's next
Haven Safety Under Inspection
Growing fears of a recession sliced 12% of value off the S&P 500 over the course of four trading days going back last week. A steep sell-off normally sends investors rushing into bonds for shelter, pushing yields downward. But this is not the case right now, oddly.
Forced selling by basis-trade-unwinding hedge funds facing margin calls? Foreign governments lashing out at the U.S.? What's going on?
"Alarmingly, U.S. Treasury markets are experiencing an incredibly aggressive selloff ... adding to the evidence that they’re losing their traditional haven status,” writes Henry Allen, a macro strategist at Deutsche Bank.
Later today, the U.S. Treasury will auction off $39B worth of 10-year notes. The largest holders of Treasuries — and potential bidders — are Japan, China and the U.K., which together represent the countries targeted with some of the highest tariffs, CNBC pointed out.
Fed chair Jerome Powell is in a hard place adjacent to a boulder whilst standing on the edge of cliff. A trade war could cause inflation, tying his policy hands. A recession could weigh heavily on the employment situation.
Asked by Fox Business if he personally expects a recession, Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, replied, “I think probably that’s a likely outcome.”
