The crypto market is reeling from one of its sharpest pullbacks in months, with Bitcoin (BTC) dropping to $74,000 amid escalating global trade tensions.

The sell-off has traders scrambling to assess whether this is a temporary correction or the start of a deeper downturn, and at the center of the storm is outspoken BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes, who is urging investors to buy the dip, even as his $76,500 support level gets decimated.

Trade Wars, Tariffs, and Market Turmoil

A combination of macroeconomic uncertainty, aggressive trade policies from U.S. President Donald Trump, and rising expectations of monetary intervention collided to send traditional financial markets into a tailspin. While Bitcoin initially seemed to keep its head above the water, making gains while major U.S. stock indices dropped, the after-tremors have finally hit, with the cryptocurrency shedding 10% of its value in the last 24 hours.

Hayes had earlier predicted BTC would hold the $76,500 level until April 15, the U.S. tax deadline. However, as of this writing, the number one cryptocurrency was trading at $74,800, way below the analyst’s expectation.

His latest post oscillates between defiance and dark humor. “Oh what shall I do, if $BTC breaks below $76,500 my credibility will be in tatters,” he joked. At the same time, the former crypto executive urged his 672,000 followers to take advantage of the price drop and accumulate, issuing a profanity-laced rallying cry: “BUY THE F*CKING DIP!”

However, not everyone shares Hayes’ conviction. Some X users were quick to ridicule his calls, with one trader writing, “You genuinely have no credibility. Even a broken clock is correct twice.” Another compared him to CNBC’s Jim Cramer, a frequent target of the crypto community’s disdain.

Still, others defended the Bitcoin enthusiast, pointing to his long-term logic. “The outcome matters, but your reasoning is more important. I am confident in your logic, and the long term will yield better results,” one user commented.

Incoming Quantitative Easing?

Hayes’ optimism stems from his belief that mounting bond market volatility will eventually force central banks to resume aggressive money printing. “If ur trying to predict when the Fed caves and goes Brrr, watch the bond vol MOVE Index,” the analyst wrote in an X post on Monday. “These are the two mrkts the Fed will defend to death. >140 yachtzee time!”

The crypto investor has long argued that monetary expansion will act as a springboard for Bitcoin’s next parabolic move. In his opinion, the ripple effects of Trump’s economic nationalism will force monetary authorities around the world into a new wave of quantitative easing (QE), and smart money should prepare for the inevitable influx of liquidity into crypto.

A tumultuous week lies ahead, with global stock and commodity markets already reeling from Donald Trump’s trade war.

Crypto market sentiment is deep in bearish territory as the selloff accelerates, and this could well continue over the coming week as March inflation data is released in the United States.

Additionally, President Trump’s tariff policies are scheduled to take effect Wednesday, with China’s retaliatory measures following on Thursday.

Economic Events April 7 to 11

Responses to Trump’s reciprocal tariffs are likely to begin on Monday as nations across the globe figure out how to offset the impact. Fear is growing among Investors that Trump’s new tariffs would slow down US and global economic growth, and increase inflation.

The minutes of Federal Reserve’s March Federal Open Market Committee meeting will be released on Wednesday, giving possible insights into the central bank’s next move.

Thursday’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) report will also be closely eyed as investors gauge price pressures following the tariff announcements. Economists expect March inflation to remain unchanged after February’s steeper-than-expected decrease, but recession fears have been reignited.

Thursday will also see data on initial jobless claims released, shedding light on labor markets in the United States.

Key Events This Week:

1. “Reciprocal Tariff” Responses Likely Begin – Monday

2. Fed Meeting Minutes – Wednesday

3. March CPI Inflation data – Thursday

4. Initial Jobless Claims data – Thursday

5. March PPI Inflation data – Friday

6. Michigan Consumer Sentiment data – Friday…

— The Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) April 6, 2025

Friday will see the Producer Price Index (PPI) report released, highlighting wholesale price trends that can ultimately affect consumer prices. Preliminary consumer sentiment data is also released Friday, and this includes consumer price expectations, an indicator of future inflation trends.

If global tariff tensions escalate or economic data disappoints, the selling pressure will likely continue throughout the week.

It is also a big week for bank first-quarter earnings, with JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Bank of New York Mellon, Morgan Stanley, and BlackRock slated to report quarterly results.

Crypto Markets Bleed

Crypto markets have seen one of the largest daily declines of the year, with a 9% slump in total capitalization. Around $250 billion has left the space in less than 24 hours, resulting in a fall to $2.5 trillion in total cap.

Bitcoin fell 8% to just over $74,000 in its largest dump since March 11. Momentum remains bearish, and further losses are more likely than gains in the current economic outlook.

Ethereum is at bear market lows, having fallen a whopping 18% to $1,450, its lowest level since October 2023.

The altcoins are a sea of red this morning, with double-digit losses for XRP, Solana, Dogecoin, Cardano, Chainlink, and Stellar as the crypto exodus continues.

Panic selling amid growing economic fears of Trump’s controversial tariffs accelerated in the past 12 hours, resulting in massive losses for BTC and the altcoins.

The cumulative market capitalization of all digital assets dumped to a multi-month low of under $2.5 trillion on CG.

BTC Slumps Hard

The primary cryptocurrency had a highly volatile trading week last time around as the asset went from $81,500 on Monday to $88,500 by Wednesday. However, Trump’s escalating Trade War and the subsequent responses from countless countries brought back the panic, uncertainty, and fear.

BTC started to lose value rapidly, and even though it managed to defend the $80,000 support on a few occasions, it ultimately gave in on Sunday evening. After a relatively quiet Saturday, the asset slumped to a monthly low of $77,000 on Monday morning during the Asian trading session.

The landscape worsened in the following hours as the European markets also opened. So far, BTC’s low came at just over $74,000, which is its worst price tag in roughly five months. However, more volatility is expected later when the US markets open as their futures have plunged violently.

For now, bitcoin’s market capitalization has nosedived to $1.5 trillion on CG even though its price has recovered slightly to $76,000. Its dominance over the alts has soared to 60.7% as they have bled out even more severely.

Alts in Freefall Mode

As mentioned above, the landscape around the altcoins is viciously painful. As the graph below will demonstrate, very few have been spared with single-digit price declines, such as BNB. The rest, including ETH and XRP, have plummeted by 15-8%.

The most significant losses come from the likes of KCS (-22%), LTC (-20%), AAVE (-19%), MOVE (-17.5%), UNI (-17.5%), and many others.

This severe crash has erased almost $300 billion from the total crypto market cap in a day, which is now down below $2.5 trillion on CG.