Bitcoin extended its pullback on Friday, retreating further from record highs as investor sentiment soured amid escalating uncertainty surrounding former U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposed trade tariffs. The resulting wave of profit-taking weighed heavily on the broader cryptocurrency market, despite otherwise bullish developments.
The flagship cryptocurrency fell 1.3% to $106,267.60 as of 01:44 ET (05:44 GMT), putting it on track for modest weekly losses after touching a record high above $111,000 last week.
Corporate investment failed to stem the decline. GameStop’s high-profile acquisition of more than $500 million in Bitcoin offered little support to prices, and neither did a potentially bullish regulatory turn. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) dropped its long-running lawsuit against Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, but the development failed to reverse bearish momentum.
Trump’s Trade Tariffs Rattle Risk Markets
Cryptocurrency markets have been particularly sensitive to the ongoing legal and political turbulence surrounding Trump’s tariff agenda. A federal trade court earlier this week temporarily blocked Trump’s proposed tariffs, only for an appeals court to reinstate them on Thursday. Trump responded with sharp criticism of the judicial system and expressed hope that the Supreme Court would eventually uphold his policy.
Analysts warned that the back-and-forth legal battles were injecting persistent uncertainty into markets, clouding the economic outlook and weighing on risk-driven assets like cryptocurrencies. Concerns over the potential economic fallout of Trump’s tariffs have grown amid signs of slowing U.S. growth.
However, some of that pessimism was tempered by a revised reading of first-quarter GDP, which indicated the U.S. economy contracted less than previously estimated.
SEC Ends Legal Pursuit of Binance, BNB Little Changed
In a surprise regulatory shift, the SEC announced Thursday that it had voluntarily dismissed its civil lawsuit against Binance and its founder, Changpeng Zhao, with prejudice—meaning the case cannot be refiled. The move reflects a change in regulatory direction under the new SEC leadership aligned with the Trump administration.
The original suit, filed under former SEC Chair Gary Gensler in June 2023, accused Binance of manipulating trading volumes, misusing customer funds, and operating unregistered securities platforms. The case was unrelated to Binance’s guilty plea in November 2023, which resulted in a $4.32 billion penalty for anti-money laundering violations. Zhao served a four-month prison sentence as part of that settlement.
Despite the legal reprieve, Binance’s native token BNB saw muted movement, slipping 1.1% to $674.20.
Broader Crypto Market Tracks Bitcoin Lower
Bitcoin’s downturn spilled over into the wider cryptocurrency space. Ether, the second-largest digital asset, dropped 3.1% to $2,642.11, while XRP lost 3.1% to $2.2134.
Other major altcoins also registered steep losses: Solana declined 4.3%, Cardano fell 5.6%, and Polygon dropped 3.7%.
Among meme coins, Dogecoin tumbled 7.7%, while the Trump-themed $TRUMP token slid 6.4%.
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