Bitcoin crash deepens as recession fear grips market – What now?

• Trade tensions and recession fears fuel crypto market volatility and sharp sell-offs.
• Bitcoin briefly dips below $81K as its market cap shrinks to $2.71T.

The crypto market is once again reeling from a sharp sell-off, driven by escalating fears of a looming recession and heightened trade tensions between the U.S. and Canada.

Market uncertainty deepened after President Donald Trump reaffirmed his commitment to aggressive economic policies, including tariffs on key trade partners.

While Trump avoided directly addressing recession concerns in a recent interview, he maintained that his policies are designed to restore economic strength, even if the transition proves turbulent.

Mark Carney replaces Justin Trudeau

Meanwhile, Canada’s political landscape saw a dramatic shift as Mark Carney replaced Justin Trudeau as prime minister, immediately taking a strong stance against Trump’s trade tactics.

In his first speech as the PM, Carney said,

“America is not Canada. And Canada never, ever, will be part of America in any way, shape or form.”

He added, 

“My government will keep our tariffs on until the Americans show us respect.” 

This was in the context of Canada imposing 25% tariffs on US consumer goods in retaliation to Trump’s tariffs. 

Canada vs. America trade war deepens

Expressing criticism on the matter, Post Millennial and Substack writer, David Krayden took to X and noted, 

“25% tariff on imports to Canada MORE inflation, this is NOT a good idea. It will TRIGGER the 25% Reciprocal tariff from Trump and USA so it is really stupid.  It makes Canada the aggressor and it is what is causing the inflation and triggering the USA tariff. Because the USA tariff is NOT on Canada RIGHT now.”  

He further added, 

“This is heading to a depression if politicians do not normalize relations.”

Bitcoin crash hits hard

Talking of the crypto market, in particular, it faced intense volatility following Carney’s election, with Bitcoin [BTC] briefly dropping below $81,000 before recovering above $82,000.

Altcoins mirrored the downturn, with Ethereum [ETH], Ripple [XRP], and Dogecoin [DOGE] plunging over 6%, while lower-cap assets like Injective and Maker saw double-digit losses.

The total crypto market cap, too, shrank by 6% to $2.8 trillion, with leveraged liquidations exceeding $600 million, wiping out $530 million in long positions.

Even as the market attempted stabilization, the latest data shows a further 3.37% decline, bringing the global crypto market cap to $2.71 trillion, highlighting persistent uncertainty and bearish sentiment.