Bitcoin (BTC) Price Fails to Hold $108K as US Trade Tariffs Dictate the Mood

Bitcoin is heading further away from its latest all-time highs as US trade tariffs dictate the mood.

US President Donald Trump’s latest pronouncements on trade tariffs saw Bitcoin (BTC) struggle to maintain gains and head further away from all-time highs by the time of the May 25 weekly close.

Trump “hot air” blamed as Bitcoin stalls at key level

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD staying in the $103,000 range after a volatile weekend session.

After snap losses accompanied comments by Trump about 50% tariffs on goods from the EU, crypto immediately felt the heat, and $112,000 remained Bitcoin’s latest all-time high.

Further episodes, this time involving goods from specific tech giants, continued the impact, leading market participants to complain about Trump’s hold over volatility.

“More hot air from the Manipulator in Chief,” Keith Alan, co-founder of trading resource Material Indicators, wrote in part of a response on X.

Alan nonetheless had good news for Bitcoin bulls, arguing that price had more room to retest support without extinguishing the broader uptrend.

“The MACRO trend line and 2 key Moving Averages on the Bitcoin Daily chart currently have confluence with the Yearly Open,” he noted, referring to the BTC/USD 2025 opening level at around $93,500.

Popular trader Crypto Tony held a similar view, suggesting that even another $4,000 drop from current levels by the weekly close would be acceptable.

$BTC / $USD - Update A close above $108,000 this week would be perfect, but a close above $104,000 is equally as ok as we clear the resistance zone pic.twitter.com/f1jYRouinj

Fellow trader Merlijn, meanwhile, was keeping an eye on a classic short-term BTC price magnet in the form of a new “gap” on CME Group’s Bitcoin futures.

“$BTC just left a fresh CME Gap at $107,230,” he showed on the day.

BTC trading giant Wynn flips short

In a move that quickly caught the attention of market observers, one large-volume trader had meanwhile flipped short on BTC.

As Cointelegraph reported, Hyperliquid trader James Wynn previously opened a $1.25 billion long position but began losing money as Trump volatility set in.

Now, as noted by research firm Lookonchain, not only had Wynn closed out his long but also moved into a new short position, at around $110 million.

That's a lot of trading for an illiquid choppy weekend.

Hyperliquid trader James Wynn, known for his massive positions, has flipped short on BTC after closing his $1.25 billion long position and opening a $110 million short position. He last had a $1.5 billion position in BTC.

— Daan Crypto Trades (@DaanCrypto) May 27, 2024

“That's a lot of trading for an illiquid choppy weekend,” trader Daan Crypto Trades wrote while reacting to the switch on X.