Headline: Market jitters after tariff shock — Bitcoin stumbles but history hints at recovery Bitcoin and the broader crypto market wobbled after a surprise policy move from U.S. President Donald Trump on Feb. 21. Trump announced an immediate increase in global tariffs to 15%, briefly sending BTC toward the $68,000 area before the rally faded. Ethereum fell alongside Bitcoin, and TOTAL3 — the metric that tracks total crypto market cap excluding BTC and ETH — slipped about 0.29%, with weakness across many altcoins (TradingView; CoinMarketCap). What traders are saying - Wenny Cai, COO at SynFutures, told AMBCrypto that crypto is behaving like “a high-beta liquidity proxy.” She said the dip into the mid-$60Ks reflects more than low sentiment; it’s the result of positioning clashing with a firmer dollar and tougher rate expectations. - Market sentiment has turned sour: the Fear & Greed Index fell into “extreme fear” as investors moved toward safer, cash-like instruments and short-duration Treasuries following the latest Federal Reserve minutes. Policy and legal backdrop The tariff hike came after a court decision that limited Trump’s use of emergency powers; the president cited other trade statutes to justify the increase. Critics, including attorney Adam Cochran, argue those alternative laws constrain how long and how widely tariffs can be applied — adding uncertainty to the move and feeding investor caution. A longer-term view: history may favor bulls Despite the near-term pullback, some analysts point to historical patterns that favor upside over time. Economist Timothy Peterson noted on X that, in periods since 2011 where at least half of the previous two years were positive, Bitcoin traded higher about 88% of the time ten months later. During those stretches, average gains reached as much as roughly 82%. Based on that framework, Peterson suggested Bitcoin could eventually push toward roughly $122,000. Bottom line Short-term headlines and macro forces — tariffs, Fed signals, a stronger dollar — are pressuring risk assets now, and crypto is not immune. But historical patterns and some analysts’ projections keep a bullish longer-term case on the table. As always, this is not investment advice: trading cryptocurrencies remains high risk, and readers should do their own research before acting. Disclaimer: AMBCrypto content is informational only and should not be taken as investment advice. © 2026 AMBCrypto Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news

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