Bitcoin wants to go up, but Trump’s tariffs aren’t helping: Will the admin TACO again?

4 hours ago 2



Escalating tensions between the US and China, President Trump digging in on tariffs and Bitcoin traders avoiding long leverage could push BTC price to new lows.

 Will the admin TACO again?

Key takeaways: 

  • Deteriorating US-China relations, President Trump’s recent tariff expansion, and traders avoiding long leverage are adding pressure to Bitcoin’s downside. 

  • Bitcoin could drop below $100,000, but analysts are hopeful that next week’s macroeconomic events will reverse the downtrend.  

Data show Bitcoin’s (BTC) market structure aiming toward establishing balance from last week’s sharp correction, but intensifying headwinds from President Donald Trump’s renewed tariff war with China and the record length of the US government shutdown serve as an overhang on bullish investors’ willingness to open new positions in futures markets. 

Spot Bitcoin ETF inflows, the Coinbase Premium Index and the spot cumulative volume delta (the net difference between market buys and sells) for professional and retail-sized investors at Coinbase have been steadily trending upward since Bitcoin sold off to $107,000 at the exchange on Oct. 10. 

Spot Bitcoin ETF netflows. Source: SoSoValue 

As shown in the chart below, the volume delta, funding, and open interest dynamics of the Bitcoin markets have evolved since the Oct. 10 sell-off. US retail and institutional investors are clear accumulators of BTC, while Binance perpetual futures traders (red line) have been aggressively selling. 

BTC/USDT 15-minute chart. Source: Hyblock

Comparing Binance spot versus its futures volumes (third panel), the spot delta is positive, whereas the negative perps delta highlights rising short-positions, confirming the view that perps-driven selling is reinforcing the downtrend, while spot buyers’ demand provides strength at $107,000 to $108,000. 

An alternate view of this expression is shown below. 

BTC/USDT daily anchored open interest and CVD. Source: Hyblock 

Considering Bitcoin’s potential price action in the short-term, the liquidation heatmap outlook (Binance, Bybit, BitMEX) infers that momentum traders might chase liquidation clusters for longs at $106,300 to $104,000 and short positions are at risk of closure at $115,000. 

BTC/USDT 7-day futures liquidation heatmap. Source: Hyblock 

While prices are expected to stay rocky in the short term, Lekker Capital chief investment officer Quinn Thompson said that the: 

“10/10 liquidation cleared more leverage in $ and % of OI than the entire Jan-Apr ‘25 period. Opportunity ahead is similar to pre-Trump victory ‘24.”  

Following in the same vein, macroeconomics-focused account ‘Tom Capital’ reminded traders to “just trade the price action” as the next week is expected to provide plenty of actionable events. 

Over the next week, you'll likely have to navigate these narratives:
- US CPI release
- Potential US government reopening
- Fed rate cut (future cuts)
- Nikkei topping at 50,000
- Gold topping
- TACO or no TACO (Trump's self-imposed 100% tariffs on China, etc.)

Or you could…

— Tom Capital (@Tom__Capital) October 21, 2025

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

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