Bitcoin, Ethereum hold firm as Trump announces global tariff hike

Mathew Di Salvo

Sun, February 22, 2026 at 3:17 AM GMT+9 2 min read

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ETH-USD

-2.21%

BTC-USD

-1.65%

The price of Bitcoin and Ethereum held steady on Saturday after US President Donald Trump said he would raise temporary tariffs on almost all imports from 10% to 15%.

Bitcoin was up nearly 2% over a 24-hour period, trading at $68,273, at midday in New York, according to CoinGecko. Ethereum rose by 2% over the same time and was trading hands for close to $1,987.

Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social, that the move would be “effective immediately” on the “countries, many of which have been ‘ripping’ the US off for decades, without retribution (until I came along!).”

The announcement came after the Supreme Court struck down his previous tariff program as invalid on Friday.

Trump had hours after the court’s ruling imposed a 10% global tariff on foreign goods.

Tariff shock no more?

Crypto markets have previously reacted negatively to Trump’s trade announcements. In April, Trump’s Liberation Day speech shed billions of dollars off Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP.

Markets then rebounded but were shocked again in May following further threats on the European Union.

Though markets are less volatile now with Bitcoin and Ethereum well below the records they set in 2025 following two brutal selloffs. Crypto prices have struggled to recover following the biggest liquidation event in the history of the industry back in October.

Bitcoin rose only slightly after the Supreme Court struck down Trump’s signature tariff policy on Friday, ruling that the president had acted unlawfully in applying the reciprocal tariffs.

ETF flows

Price action from Bitcoin and Ethereum comes after a week of more redemptions from top US exchange-traded funds.

US investors cashed out nearly $316 million from the Bitcoin funds this week, with Friday the only day with positive flows. Their Ethereum counterparts, meanwhile, lost over $123 million.

Heavy redemptions from the products — managed by the likes of BlackRock, Fidelity, and Grayscale — usually come as prices take a hit, and Bitcoin and Ethereum over the past seven days are down 2% and 5%, respectively.

Mathew Di Salvo is a news correspondent with DL News. Got a tip? Email at mdisalvo@dlnews.com.

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