Why Is Crypto Market Down Despite Trump’s Non-Tariff Announcement

The crypto market is down today and has failed to recover following U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement, which wasn’t related to tariffs as market participants had earlier feared. Several other factors are contributing to this downtrend, including increased selling pressure from whales.

Why The Crypto Market Is Down Even As Trump Doesn’t Announce Tariffs

TradingView data shows the crypto market is still down today, even after Trump’s announcement, which didn’t mention tariffs, which have so far contributed to the recent bearish sentiment. The market is down almost 3% today, dropping to a market cap of $3.6 trillion.

Additionally, on October 16, the U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs collectively recorded net outflows totaling $536 million, according to SoSoValue data. It is also worth noting that none of the twelve BTC ETFs registered net inflows. This suggests investor caution amid recent market volatility. Spot Ethereum ETFs also posted a combined net outflow of $56.88 million for the day.

CoinGape had earlier reported about the ‘Trump Insider Whale‘ who had opened a $127 million short on Bitcoin just ahead of Trump’s announcement. This sparked fear among crypto market participants, with BTC dropping from an intraday high of around $111,000.

Notably, this was the same whale that opened a Bitcoin short position of up to $735 million, just before Trump announced a 100% tariff on China last week. As such, the whale’s move today again sparked speculation that the president would announce new tariffs or at least make a tariff-related announcement.

Meanwhile, despite Trump failing to mention tariffs, the crypto market is still down, led by Bitcoin, which has so far shown weakness since hitting a new all-time high (ATH) of $126,000 earlier in the month. This bearish price action is believed to be due to several factors.

Massive Selling Pressure From Whales

A CryptoQuant analysis revealed that miners have deposited 51,000 BTC into exchanges since October 9, suggesting they are likely offloading their holdings. These miner inflows notably surged on October 11, reaching 14,000 BTC —the highest level since last July, when Bitcoin dropped to $110,000.

The CryptoQuant analysis noted that the deposit of 51,000 BTC within the last seven days represents a clear shift in miner behavior from holding to selling, which is bearish not just for Bitcoin but the broader crypto market.

Bitcoin miners have historically been among the largest holders of BTC, so the magnitude of their sales can put significant selling pressure on the BTC price. Meanwhile, the BTC miners aren’t the only whales selling. As CoinGape reported, Bitcoin OG whales have been selling into every new high that BTC makes and began selling again after the flagship crypto hit $126,000.

The ‘Trump Insider Whale,’ who is also a Bitcoin OG, has been selling and contributing to the crypto market’s downtrend. On-chain analytics platform Arkham revealed that the whale deposited $222 million in BTC to Coinbase today, suggesting they sold the coins.

Gold May Be Stealing The Spotlight From BTC

So far, Wall Street has opined that investors are investing in both gold and Bitcoin as part of a ‘debasement trade.’ However, crypto pundit Plur indicated that this debasement trade may only apply to gold, especially considering BTC’s price action amid the crypto market downtrend.

Plur declared that “gold has stolen some of BTC’s thunder” this year and that the flagship crypto has failed to show sufficient momentum. He further remarked that BTC “choked” on the big stage despite being considered the ultimate momentum asset.

However, he noted that this is due to Bitcoin OGs selling, as ownership is still fairly concentrated, and that there are still concerns about the 4-year cycle, which suggests the crypto market may be topping out. Plur believes a meaningful percentage of these BTC whales have already sold and predicts the overhang will progressively clear later this year.

Meanwhile, the pundit stated that there is strong evidence that the BTC price follows gold with a 60 to 90-day lag, suggesting that the flagship crypto may soon enter an uptrend, with gold reaching new highs almost every day.

Plur further predicted that the crypto market might be choppy until this window, and when there is a full resolution around the U.S.-China trade war. However, he is confident that the “real fireworks” still lie ahead, indicating that the bull cycle is far from over.