Crypto markets kept their footing on Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a sweeping new 10% tariff on imports — a move that came shortly after the Supreme Court of the United States blocked his earlier attempt to use emergency powers to impose trade duties.
In previous years, fresh tariff headlines from Washington often triggered sharp selloffs across risk assets. This time, the reaction was far more restrained.
Bitcoin traded around $67,800 during the session, while Ether hovered near $1,960, according to CoinMarketCap data. The broader crypto market held steady as well, with total market capitalization sitting near $2.33 trillion. Sentiment indicators suggested caution, but there were no signs of panic selling.
A Legal Detour on Trade Policy
Earlier this week, the Supreme Court ruled that the White House could not rely on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose tariffs during peacetime. In its opinion, the court emphasized that the Constitution grants Congress — not the president — the authority to levy duties and taxes, noting that no prior administration had used the statute to enact tariffs at such scale.
Trump openly criticized the ruling, calling it “ridiculous,” and quickly signaled that his administration would pivot.
“Effective immediately… I will sign an order to impose a 10% global tariff under Section 122 over and above our normal tariffs already being charged,” he said at a press conference. He added that tariffs under Sections 232 and 301 — typically tied to national security and trade investigations — would remain in place.
Rather than backing down, the administration is now leaning on longstanding trade laws, including the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 and the Trade Act of 1974, to justify the new measures.
Crypto’s Muted Reaction
Historically, tariff disputes have unsettled global markets. Trade tensions tend to tighten liquidity expectations, complicate economic forecasts and pressure speculative assets like cryptocurrencies.
Yet traders appeared measured this time around.
Bitcoin showed only modest intraday movement, while Ethereum posted slight gains over 24 hours. Other major tokens, including XRP and BNB, also moved within relatively narrow ranges. The lack of a dramatic selloff suggests investors may view the tariff shift as significant politically, but not immediately disruptive to crypto fundamentals.
Bitcoin’s Millionaire Count Slips
The latest policy shift also comes against a changing backdrop for Bitcoin wealth.
Over the past year, Bitcoin has lost roughly 25,000 millionaire addresses, even as U.S. rhetoric toward digital assets has become more supportive. Blockchain data indicates the number of wallets holding at least $1 million in BTC has fallen about 16% year over year.
The decline has been less pronounced among the largest holders. Addresses containing more than $10 million worth of Bitcoin dropped around 12.5%, suggesting that top-tier investors were better positioned to weather volatility. Wallets closer to the $1 million threshold, however, proved more sensitive to price swings.
Notably, much of the surge in Bitcoin millionaire addresses occurred before Trump returned to office, driven by a late-2024 rally fueled by election optimism and expectations of deregulation.
For now, despite renewed trade tensions and legal battles over presidential authority, crypto markets appear to be taking the developments in stride — steady, watchful and waiting for clearer economic signals.
