Bitcoin Climbs Back Above $109600 as Trump Delays EU Tariffs

Bitcoin climbed back above $109600 in Sunday trading as President Donald Trump agreed to delay proposed tariffs on European Union goods.

President Donald Trump has agreed to delay the imposition of 50% tariffs on European Union goods until July 9, deferring a move that had threatened to spark a surge in inflation and derail a slew of trade talks.

The announcement on Sunday provides relief to global markets, which have been navigating a week of volatility largely driven by concerns over escalating trade friction.

Trump made the announcement on Truth Social following a phone call with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

The EU had requested more time to finalize trade negotiations with the U.S., given the complexity of the issues at hand and the need for additional time to mobilize internal stakeholders.

The original June 1 deadline for 50% tariffs on a broad range of EU goods, such as apparel, footwear, luggage, and handbags, had approached rapidly.

However, both sides are now granted additional weeks to work towards an agreement.

The S&P 500 futures traded 1.28% higher from Friday’s close, while Nasdaq futures rose 1.43% during early Asian hours on Monday, May 26.

Bitcoin Edges Up As Tariffs Extention Provides Relief

Bitcoin gained 1.4% in the past 24 hours to trade at $109,637 during early Asian hours on May 26.

The world’s largest cryptocurrency recovered slightly from a recent pullback that saw it trade briefly as low as $107,500 following Trump’s initial tariff threats on Friday.

Its recovery follows a period of volatility that saw Bitcoin hit a new all-time high of $111,814 on Thursday, May 22.

The digital asset also saw a strong move in derivatives activity. Open interest increased 2.59% to $76.66 billion over 24 hours according to Coinglass data, while trading volume rose 10.85% to $89.91 billion.

Rising derivatives activity can be an indicator of increasing trader confidence and activity in building up positions.

Options traders were positioning for further gains in Bitcoin, with Deribit data showing over $0.5 billion in notional volume at the $120,000 strike price for end-of-June contracts.

U.S. equity futures responded positively to the extension of the European tariffs, with S&P 500 futures adding 0.9% and Dow futures rising 0.8%.

Nasdaq-100 futures traded 1% higher in early Monday morning trade, as the bullish futures activity highlighted reduced concerns over transatlantic trade tensions.

Bitcoin bulls were positioning for further gains in the cryptocurrency, with options traders placing large positions at higher strikes.

At the June expiry, the $120,000 strike had the highest notional volume on Deribit at over $0.5 billion.

Analysts Eye Further BTC Upside

Several analysts are still optimistic about Bitcoin’s near-term price prospects.

Ryan McMillin, an analyst at Merkle Tree Capital, expects Bitcoin to push toward the $120,000 level as the cryptocurrency trades more closely with gold.

“Bitcoin has been trading more in line with gold lately, reflecting its appeal as a non-sovereign asset in an increasingly inflationary world. Meanwhile, we’re seeing a buildup of liquidity in the crypto market and new all-time highs in the U.S. stock market, which provides a backdrop for further gains in cryptocurrencies,” McMillin told Decrypt.

He added that broad liquidity is still expanding, with broad money supply (M3) in the U.S. up 14.3% year-over-year in March.

“This broad liquidity is a factor that continues to support cryptocurrencies.”

Another analyst, Pav Hundal from crypto exchange Swyftx, is also placing a bullish bet on Bitcoin to reach the $120,000 mark by early July.

“It’s no secret that Bitcoin options traders are heavily concentrated on the higher strikes, and for good reason. The crypto winter is officially over, and with it comes an incredible bull market in cryptocurrencies.”

The EU had already paused retaliatory tariffs on $23 billion in U.S. goods and was consulting on measures to target a further $95 billion.

The bloc exported over $600 billion in goods to the U.S. last year, ranging from apparel and footwear to luggage and handbags.

In April, Trump announced plans to impose 20% tariffs on most EU imports, which he later reduced to 10% before threatening to raise them to 50% by June 1 if the trade talks stalled.

Cryptocurrency market is known to be highly sensitive to macro-policy developments and recent reports suggest that the U.S. is getting ready to impose