Bitcoin Nears Death Cross After US Tariffs Trigger $500M In Crypto Liquidations – Retail Traders Split On What’s Next
Bitcoin’s mining power surged to record levels, but with fewer transactions filling blocks and the cryptocurrency’s price weakness, the rising hashrate may not translate to sustained profitability for miners.
Bitcoin's (BTC) price dropped to $83,000 on Thursday following the implementation of President Donald Trump's new reciprocal tariffs.
The sweeping trade measures impose a 25% tariff on auto imports and a minimum 10% tariff on all U.S. trading partners. The largest increase affects Chinese goods, with total levies now reaching 54% following a new 34% tariff on top of the existing 20% rate.
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Canada and Mexico were exempt from the changes.
Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market value, slipped from $88,000 to as low as $82,500 following the tariff announcement, according to CoinGecko.
In addition to the price drop, a bearish technical signal is also looming. Bitcoin’s 50-day simple moving average (SMA) is on track to cross below the 200-day SMA, a pattern known as the "death cross."
On Wednesday, the gap between the two moving averages was just over $1,000.
The pattern was last spotted in August, when the price initially fell 16% before recovering to record highs in November.
The tariff-induced market turmoil also led to significant liquidations in the crypto futures market. Over the past 24 hours, crypto futures traders saw $500 million in liquidations, according to CoinGlass data.
The price swings affected both bulls and bears, with more than $200 million in liquidations on each side.
Bitcoin-tracked futures accounted for $176.7 million in long and short liquidations, followed by Ethereum (ETH) futures at $89 million and smaller altcoins at nearly $60 million.
While Bitcoin’s price remains volatile, network activity tells a different story.
The 14-day moving average of Bitcoin’s hashrate – a measure of computational power used to mine blocks – hit an all-time high of 838 exahashes per second (EH/s). On a 24-hour basis, it surged to 974 EH/s, the second-highest level ever recorded, according to CoinWarz data.
A strong Bitcoin price, full blocks, and elevated transaction fees are essential for miners to remain profitable and cover operational expenses. Currently, the rising hash rate suggests network strength, but lower transaction activity means miners may struggle with profitability.
Retail traders on Stocktwits remain uncertain about Bitcoin’s direction, with opinions split across multiple price ranges.
A recent poll found that one-third of respondents expect Bitcoin to trade between $85,001 and $110,000 in the near future. Some traders are more bullish, with 25% anticipating that Bitcoin’s price will cross $110,000 by the end of the month.
Others are more skeptical, with 26% believing Bitcoin will fall further to trade between $60,000 and $85,000. A smaller segment of respondents, around 15%, see an even deeper decline, expecting Bitcoin to dip below $60,000 by the end of April.
However, overall retail sentiment on Stocktwits around Bitcoin edged higher but remained in ‘bearish’ territory.
Some users remained optimistic, arguing that it is only a matter of time before the broader market recognizes Bitcoin as a safe-haven asset amid the current market volatility.
Bitcoin’s price is down 0.9% over the past month, but its value has increased by over 25% in the past 12 months.
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