Bitcoin Price Subdued as ‘Trump Always Chickens Out’ Backlash Looms

​​Bitcoin held its ground above $104,000 on Monday despite the U.S.-China trade tension and court-driven tariff drama that rattled global markets.

Last Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump accused China of violating a mid-May agreement to pause tariff escalation and announced a hike in import tariffs on steel and aluminum, from 25% to 50%, effective June 4.

The pause gave rise to a “Trump always chickens out” meme and its acronym TACO. The president has seemed eager to prove his critics wrong.

During a campaign rally at a U.S. Steel plant in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, Trump said the tariff hike will “even further secure the steel industry in the United States,” while touting a deal between Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel as a win for American workers.

The geopolitical whiplash triggered nearly $1 billion in crypto liquidations, according to QCP Capital’s Monday update.

BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF, fresh off a record 34-day inflow streak, saw $430 million in outflows on May 30, as per Farside Investors data.

Yet BTC remained composed, signaling a reset in leverage rather than investor panic.

At the moment, Bitcoin is trading at $104,158, a slight increase of 0.1% over the past 24 hours, as per CoinGecko data.

“Risk reversals have begun to normalize… [and] perp funding has turned flat,” the QCP wrote, suggesting muted short-term price swings.

Institutional interest has not waned eithe.; Japan’s Metaplanet added another $114 million in BTC post-selloff, bringing holdings to 8,888 BTC, worth over $925 million.

QCP referenced the TACO acronym, which has become popular among Trump’s critics, but noted that Friday’s escalation indicated he may be aiming to defy that perception.

With no major policy catalysts before July 8, BTC may stay rangebound between $100K and $110K, QCP noted, citing high open interest at those levels.

Arthur Azizov, founder and investor at B2 Ventures, told Decrypt that the tariff headlines were contributing to market churn, but not a structural shift.

Azizov called the tariff “likely to trigger some market volatility, particularly in risk assets like crypto,” but added, “that doesn’t necessarily mean we’ll see a sharp immediate drop in Bitcoin or other digital currencies.”

“Over time, we’ve already seen multiple headlines about tariffs, their delays, reversals, and policy shifts — all of that has caused some market swings, but for long-term investors, it hasn’t made a huge difference in the big picture,” the expert said.

China Responds to Trump Claims

On Monday, the Chinese Embassy in Washington posted a statement from China’s Ministry of Commerce on X, calling Trump’s claims “groundless” and warning of “forceful measures” in response.

The ministry said China had upheld the Geneva deal, while the U.S. imposed “discriminatory” actions including AI chip bans, visa revocations, and software restrictions.

China is the world’s largest steel exporter, but sends little to the U.S. due to a 25% tariff imposed in 2018. It ranks third in aluminum supply, making the new 50% tariff a direct blow to the nation.

A federal appeals court temporarily reinstated Trump-era tariffs on May 29, pausing a trade court ruling that had blocked them as unconstitutional.

On Sunday, Trump claimed on Truth Social that if judges were to rule against his tariff powers, it “would allow other Countries to hold our Nation hostage with their anti-American Tariffs.”

Edited by Stacy Elliott.