By Krisztian Sandor, Helene Braun|Edited by Stephen Alpher
Oct 10, 2025, 3:37 p.m.
- Cryptocurrencies fell sharply in late morning U.S. action on Friday after President Trump floated plans for increasing tariffs on Chinese goods as a response to rare earth metals export controls.
- Bitcoin plunged back below $119,000, with other major cryptocurrencies like ETH and SOL also tumbling.
- Crypto-related stocks, including Circle (CRCL), Robinhood (HOOD) and Coinbase (COIN) declined 5%-6%.
It’s deja vu all over again for bitcoin bulls as Monday’s rally to an all-time high triggered not FOMO, but instead fast retreat. That retreat sped up in a big way in late-morning U.S. action on Friday after trade war tensions between the U.S. and China ratcheted higher.
U.S. President Donald Trump said in a Truth Social post minutes ago that he’s preparing a “massive increase” in tariffs on Chinese goods in response to China earlier imposing export controls on rare earth metals.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Following the post, bitcoin BTC$111,480.33 plunged below $119,000 from $122,000. Ether ETH$4,005.03, solana SOL$201.48 and XRP each joined in the swift decline.
The drop in crypto prices also weighed on stocks tied to the sector. Circle (CRCL) fell over 6%. Robinhood (HOOD), which gets a large portion of its trading activity from crypto, declined 5%.
Coinbase (COIN) also shed 5%, while MicroStrategy (MSTR) slipped about 3%.
The news rippled across traditional markets, too. WTI crude oil dropped nearly 4% below $60, its weakest price since early May. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq were 1.6% and 1.3% lower, respectively.
Gold? It rallied more than 1% to back over $4,000 per ounce as the yellow metal once again showed itself, not bitcoin, to be the risk-off asset of choice for investors.
At the current $118,800, bitcoin is lower by about 2% over the past 24 hours and about 6% since hitting a new record above $126,000 just four days ago.
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Combined spot and derivatives trading on centralized exchanges surged 7.58% to $9.72 trillion in August, marking the highest monthly volume of 2025
What to know:
- Combined spot and derivatives trading on centralized exchanges surged 7.58% to $9.72 trillion in August, marking the highest monthly volume of 2025
- Gate exchange emerged as major player with 98.9% volume surge to $746 billion, overtaking Bitget to become fourth-largest platform
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By Helene Braun|Edited by Stephen Alpher
1 hour ago
The decision marks a major expansion for the bank’s $8.2 trillion wealth and investment management business and suggests a growing acceptance of crypto as an asset class for mainstream investors.
What to know:
- Morgan Stanley will allow all clients to invest in crypto across all account types, including retirement.
- Previously, access was limited to high-net-worth clients with aggressive risk profiles.
- The move reflects growing pressure on traditional finance to adapt as crypto gains mainstream acceptance.
