Bitcoin’s impressive price surge over the past several days came to a halt hours ago after US President Donald Trump threatened Russia with “very severe tariffs” if it fails to reach a peace deal with Ukraine within 50 days.
According to some reports, the POTUS plans to sell US weapons to European countries, who will later transfer them to Ukraine.
Trump, who promised to end the war in Eastern Europe immediately after becoming president during his election campaign, has had a rather rocky relationship with Ukraine’s Zelenskyy ever since he reentered the White House in January 2025.
However, his most recent actions have showcased a tougher approach against Russia and its allies:
“We’re going to be doing very severe tariffs if we don’t have a deal in 50 days,” Trump said. “Tariffs at about 100% you’d call them secondary tariffs. You know what that means.”
Citing a White House official, CNN reported that these secondary tariffs meant 100% taxation against Russia and further sanctions on countries that buy oil from the world’s largest nation by landmass.
Trump’s tariff threats in the past several months have harmed the cryptocurrency market, with the most evident example taking place in April when bitcoin plunged below $75,000 to mark a five-month low.
However, their impact seems muted lately as BTC remained unshaken during the weekend when the POTUS said the EU and Mexico will face 30% sanctions starting from August 1.
However, today’s threats impacted the primary digital asset, which dropped below $120,000 after marking a new all-time high above $123,000 earlier.
If you want to read more about the potential reasons that fueled BTC’s massive $15,000 surge within less than a week, you can check this article. However, there are certain warnings about its short-term price direction, which can be seen here.