The uncertainty surrounding U.S. trade policies and fading optimism over the creation of a strategic cryptocurrency reserve have sent shockwaves through the crypto world. The market reacted negatively to escalating trade tensions after former U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed that new tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China would go into effect within hours. The fear of economic fallout from these restrictive measures overshadowed the earlier excitement among crypto investors about the proposed U.S. strategic crypto reserve.

According to CoinGecko, Bitcoin tumbled over 9% to $83,551, while Ethereum took an even harder hit, plummeting 16% to $2,080. It wasn’t just the big players feeling the heat—altcoins also suffered major losses. Cardano dropped 25%, Solana fell 19%, Dogecoin slumped 16%, and XRP dipped 18%. The global crypto market capitalization shrank by 12.4% in just 24 hours, now sitting at $2.8 trillion.

It wasn’t just digital assets taking a hit—stocks of major crypto companies on the Nasdaq also plunged. Coinbase shares slid 9.87%, Robinhood fell 3.21%, and Strategy dipped 4.5%. This all comes just ahead of the White House’s highly anticipated national cryptocurrency summit scheduled for March 7, where industry leaders are set to discuss the future of digital assets and how to balance regulation with technological innovation.

With investors on edge and market volatility at an all-time high, the big question now is—what’s next for crypto?