Tariffs Don’t Budge Bitcoin, PNUT Pops on Musk Rant: Crypto Daybook Americas
Bitcoin (BTC) remains stable near $108,600, while the CoinDesk 20 (CD20) index rose 1.8%, defying President Trump’s tariff threats. Trump’s letters to 14 nations warning of August 1 tariffs, along with proposed tariffs on copper and pharmaceuticals, had a muted impact on both crypto and traditional markets. The market’s reaction suggests the “TACO” (Trump Always Chickens Out) trade remains in play, anticipating a potential reversal of the tariffs. However, QCP Capital analysts highlight the risk of tariff-driven inflation delaying potential Fed rate cuts, potentially impacting crypto’s attractiveness. Recession fears have eased, with Polymarket’s odds dropping to 20%, the lowest since January.
Crypto investment products saw nearly $1 billion in net inflows last week, reaching a record $188 billion in total assets. Bitcoin funds dominated inflows, with ether, solana, and XRP also experiencing strong demand. Corporate treasuries continue accumulating bitcoin, bolstering demand. While some memecoins, like PNUT and Grok-related tokens, performed exceptionally well, other altcoins lagged, increasing Bitcoin’s dominance to 65% year-to-date.
Upcoming events include the Isthmus hard fork on Celo’s mainnet (July 9), Polygon’s Heimdall hard fork (July 10), a Singapore High Court hearing on WazirX’s restructuring (July 14), and the launch of Alchemist staking and Lynq’s settlement network (July 15). Macroeconomic data releases include Mexico’s and Brazil’s inflation data (July 9 and 10), U.S. unemployment data (July 10), and FOMC minutes (July 9). A Senate Banking Committee hearing on digital asset markets will take place on July 9. The August 1 tariff deadline looms large.
Elon Musk’s social media post about a squirrel fueled a surge in the Solana-based memecoin PNUT. Grok’s AI-generated terms, “MechaHitler,” “GigaPutin,” and “CyberStalin,” triggered a wave of over 200 related tokens on Solana and Ethereum, highlighting AI’s impact on crypto trading activity. Derivatives positioning shows increased open interest in ether perpetuals, suggesting a bullish bias. Bitcoin perpetuals remain relatively quiet, mirroring the spot price. XRP’s open interest is near five-month highs.
