A wave of sell-offs has gripped the cryptocurrency market, driving prices lower as macroeconomic uncertainty frightened traders on March 10. The decline followed statements made by US President Donald Trump in a March 8 Fox News interview, in which he conceded that his economic policies may cause some economic pain. 

His dovish pronouncements on budget cuts and trade levies sparked fears of heightened market volatility, encouraging investors to abandon risky assets such as cryptocurrency.

Bitcoin (btc-4.69%) has plummeted 10% in the last week, wiping out most of its recent gains. It is currently trading at $82,574, down roughly 4% over the previous 24 hours and approaching its 2025 low of $78,000. The larger cryptocurrency market fell 7%, bringing its total value to $2.8 trillion.

Altcoins also experienced huge losses. Over the previous 24 hours, Solana sol-8.89% Solana plummeted 8%, while XRP fell -7.42%. XRP fell 6%, while Ethereum dropped 4.74%. Ethereum slumped 5%, battling to remain over $2,000. Cardano ADA -9.2% Cardano and Dogecoin (doge-9.51%) Dogecoin fell by roughly 8% and 9%, respectively. 

The market slump resulted in $620 million in liquidations, with long positions accounting for $527 million. Bitcoin alone incurred $241 million in damages.

Major US technology equities have also experienced big losses. Nvidia (NVDA) has been down 8.7% in the last five days, Tesla (TSLA) by 12.5%, and Meta (META) by 7.17%. The S&P 500 plummeted 3.3% on Monday morning, echoing broader investor fears. 

Meanwhile, Bitcoin futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange started at $82,110 on March 10, down $4,320 from the previous day’s closing of $86,430, representing the second-largest single-day fall in CME Bitcoin futures this month. 

Trump’s words come ahead of escalating trade tensions between the United States and China, with Beijing preparing to put fresh tariffs on US agricultural exports in response to the most recent round of US import increases.

On March 4, 2025, China announced retaliatory tariffs on US agricultural products, which will take effect on March 10. With implementation already started, concerns over growing trade hostilities have weighed on investor morale. 

Further, Trump’s Bitcoin reserve announcement last week fell short of expectations. The absence of direct buying provisions disappointed traders who had anticipated stronger institutional support.

What’s next?

Traders are currently monitoring major economic data this week, including the U.S. Consumer Price Index on March 12 and the Producer Price Index on March 13, which might influence the market’s short-term trajectory.

As previously reported by Crypto.news, BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes predicts Bitcoin may fall to multi-month lows of $76,000.

Recently, trader Captain Faibik noted that Bitcoin’s price is locked in an ascending wedge shape. If it breaks above this pattern, it might rise to $120K. However, if it falls below the pattern’s lower border, he warns that Bitcoin may fall further to $50K-$55K in the medium term. 

Crypto-asset investments are high-risk; you may lose your capital.