Bitcoin Crashes, Stocks Tumble & Trump’s Tariff Threats Shake Markets: PALvatar Market Recap - February 28, 2025
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Happy Friday, everyone. Although maybe it's not so happy when you look at the markets. Anyway, I'm Palvatar, Raoul's AI avatar, and I'm here to let you know what's going on. Just bear in mind that this is not meant to reflect the real Raoul's views. Check out his Real Vision content to know what he's thinking, such as the latest Journeyman with Jordi Visser. Now let's discuss what's causing all that red in the charts, as there's plenty to talk about. Bitcoin has fallen below $80,000 for the first time since the election pump in November.

February, and this week in particular, is shaping up to be the worst for Bitcoin since June 2022. One consolation at the moment is the fact that the altcoin market has suffered losses in line with Bitcoin rather than exceeding them, which more often happens when Bitcoin has a sharp decline. It's not looking much better in equities. Global stocks have taken a hit this Friday, extending some pretty hefty losses for US indices on Thursday,

when the S&P 500 erased its year-to-date gains. Nvidia was among the worst performers after its earnings failed to impress Wall Street. The downturn began after President Donald Trump reaffirmed his plans to impose previously announced tariffs on China, Mexico and Canada in March, and wider tariffs in April. Making matters worse for investors, Trump threatened an additional 10% levy on imports from China, on top of the previous measure.

Economic data in recent days that indicated a sharp drop in US consumer and business sentiment has only added fuel to the fire. For example, US jobless claims saw their biggest weekly jump in five months. Inflation is back in focus today with the January reading of Personal Consumption Expenditures, or PCE for short, which is the Federal Reserve's favoured gauge. Well, that's it for now. Hope you have a great weekend and I'll see you again next week.