Rumors of a 90-Day Tariff Pause Triggers Brief Market Rally

The brief rumor of a 90-day pause from Trump’s tariffs caused the markets to rally significantly. However, the White House squashed these rumors, fueling further crashes.

This highlights a genuine desperation in the markets as traders try to regain some bullish momentum and prevent a recession.

Trump Tariff Fakeout

The threat of Trump’s tariffs is closer than ever, and it’s causing a “Black Monday” event in the crypto markets. Bitcoin dipped below $80,000, and over $1 billion was liquidated from crypto.

However, one of the President’s advisors, Kevin Hassett, suggested this morning that he might be having second thoughts:

“Would Trump consider a 90-day pause in tariffs?’ ‘I think the president is gonna decide what the president is gonna decide … even if you think there will be some negative effect from the trade side, that’s still a small share of GDP,'” Hassett said in an interview.

This news quickly began recirculating, claiming that Trump was seriously considering a 90-day pause in tariffs. This created a huge rally in traditional markets, with the S&P 500 shooting up 6% in seconds. This rally turned on a dime to a certain extent, falling again quickly.

Following the rumor, XRP rallied nearly 10% to hit $2, while Bitcoin rebounded back to $80,000. Both assets have declined again due to the lack of credibility of the news. Overall, the volatility has been extremely chaotic in the crypto market today.

In his interview, Hassett did not make any firm commitments that Trump is considering pausing tariffs. His response focused mostly on ongoing negotiations and assertions that the tariffs would have a limited impact.

Shortly afterward, the White House officially denied any knowledge of a 90-day pause. They are still set to begin in two days.

As of now, the tariffs are set to go live in two days on April 9. Meanwhile, President Trump will impose an additional 50% tariff on China.

In any case, if further tariffs are imposed, it will escalate trade war concerns, which will likely cause further volatility for both the crypto and stock markets.