Bitcoin BTC$67,702.26 brushed aside a volatile round of U.S. tariff headlines on Friday, inching toward $68,000 and altcoins modestly bouncing.
The day began with the U.S. Supreme Court ruling President Donald Trump’s global tariff rollout illegal. The decision did not clarify what should happen to tariff revenue already collected, and it doesn’t necessarily spell the end of Trump’s trade agenda, with multiple legal and executive avenues still available.
By the afternoon, President Trump announced an additional 10% global tariff to be rolled out under Section 122 for roughly five months, effective in three days.
The fresh levy, imposed on top of existing tariffs, barely dented sentiment.
Risk assets, including crypto, pushed modestly higher through the session. The broad-market CoinDesk 20 Index gained 2.5% over the past 24 hours, with BNB, DOGE$0.1005, ADA$0.2836 and Solana (SOL) outperforming with 3%-4% advances. Bitcoin was recently trading just below $68,000.
Meanwhile, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 climbed 0.9% and 0.7%, respectively. Among crypto-linked stocks, exchange Coinbase (COIN), stablecoin issuer Circle (CRCL) and bitcoin treasury firm Strategy (MSTR) rose more than 2%. Bitcoin miners tied to AI infrastructure buildouts underperformed, with Riot Platforms (RIOT), Cipher Mining (CIFR), IREN and TeraWulf (WULF) falling 3%-6%.
Cryptos to stay rangebound
“We have seen a small rally for risk assets post-tariffs news as it leads into a narrative that tariffs are damaging for the macro environment,” said Paul Howard, director at trading firm Wincent.
Still, conviction remains light that prices could break out to the upside from the current tight range. “Volumes, however, remain muted and we can expect crypto to maintain range bound trading for the time being” barring any “macro or geopolitical shocks coming,” Howard added.
A key potential macro risk could be Trump ordering strikes against Iran over the next few days, following the significant military buildup in the region for weeks now.
Source: https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2026/02/20/bitcoin-shrugs-off-trump-s-new-tariffs-nears-usd68-000-as-altcoins-lead-modest-bounce
