Bitcoin Pops to $93K After Donald Trump Blinks on China Tariffs and Firing Fed Chair

Key Takeaways

• Bitcoin pushes past $90,000 after weeks of consolidation.
• The rally follows Trump’s sudden shift on China tariffs and his walk-back on firing the Fed chair.
• Trump is again calling for interest rate cuts to boost markets.

Bitcoin (BTC) blew past the $90,000 mark on Tuesday, climbing to a high of $93,948 in its strongest rally in weeks.

The surge came as markets responded to two unexpected moves from President Donald Trump: softening his stance on China tariffs and backing off threats to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

That policy pivot injected fresh optimism into risk assets. Bitcoin led the rally, while altcoins followed closely, reversing much of their recent losses.

Trump Signals a Truce on China Tariffs

After months of ramping up tariffs and escalating tensions, Trump now appears ready to dial things back.

Speaking with The Hill , he said the current 145% tariff on Chinese goods “won’t be that high,” hinting at a major de-escalation in the trade war.

He also expressed hope about finalizing a trade deal and emphasized maintaining a positive relationship with China.

Behind closed doors, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reportedly echoed that sentiment.

According to Bloomberg , Bessent told lawmakers that the standoff with China was “unsustainable” and that the U.S. wasn’t seeking a full economic decoupling.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt added that “good progress” was being made—not just with China, but with other trading partners as well.

Markets, including crypto, responded quickly.

Trump Walks Back Fed Threat, Pushes for Rate Cuts

At the same time, Trump is backing down from his threats to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell. While he’s made no secret of his frustration with the Fed’s hesitation to cut rates, he’s now saying he won’t seek Powell’s removal.

Still, Trump isn’t letting up on the pressure. “Now is the perfect time” to lower interest rates, he said, urging the Fed to take action to counteract the economic drag from tariffs and market volatility.

Powell, for his part, isn’t ruling out a rate cut, but he insists it would only come if the economic outlook deteriorates significantly.

Traders, however, are already betting on a cut.

Rate reductions would lower borrowing costs and potentially fuel another wave of risk-on investing.

The last major rate cuts during the COVID-19 pandemic kicked off a historic run in both equities and crypto, thanks to a flood of liquidity and cheap capital.

Crypto Markets Surge, Shorts Get Crushed

Crypto markets roared back to life following Trump’s policy U-turn, with Bitcoin jumping 7% to $93,900. 

Ethereum (ETH) followed with an 11% gain, climbing to $1,818. Solana (SOL), Cardano (ADA), and Dogecoin (DOGE) also posted double-digit jumps, each up around 11% on the day.

But the real standouts were lower-cap altcoins. DeepBook Protocol (DEEP) surged 64% to $0.20, leading the altcoin rebound. Immutable (IMX) gained 40% to $0.64, while Sui (SUI) added 29%, reaching $2.92.

The sharp upside move caught bears off guard.

According to CoinGlass , more than $600 million in short positions were liquidated across the market, nearly ten times the $74 million in long liquidations.

Bitcoin shorts took the biggest hit, followed by Ethereum, as traders rushed to cover positions amid the rally.