Bitcoin, the world's biggest cryptocurrency, hit a three-week low of $91,441.89 overnight and stood at $95,730.35 at 0941 GMT, down 6.2% on the day. Smaller cryptocurrency Ethereum has lost nearly 25% in value since Friday, marking its biggest three-day loss since November 2022. It last fetched $2,592.14.

Why is this happening?

Over the weekend, U.S. President Donald Trump imposed 25% tariffs on Mexican and most Canadian imports, and 10% on goods from China, starting on Tuesday.

Canada and Mexico, the top two U.S. trading partners, immediately vowed retaliatory measures, and China said it would challenge Trump's levies at the World Trade Organization.

Almost a quarter of the 100 largest cryptocurrencies have lost 20% or more in value over the last 24 hours, according to CoinGecko data.

Shares in U.S. crypto exchange Coinbase were down 5.5% in pre-market trading.

Trump's own cryptocurrency $TRUMP slid below $20, according to CoinGecko. Launched shortly before Trump's inauguration, the cryptocurrency had initially surged, reaching highs above $73 on Jan. 19.

What we've been seeing isn't so much that Ethereum is being uniquely hard-hit (most of the market is down similarly or worse) but rather that $BTC is holding up better than $ETH

Bitcoin briefly touched a record high of $107,071.86 on the morning of Jan. 20, when Trump was sworn in as the 47th U.S. President and is up 40% since the election in early November in the hopes of crypto-friendly regulations from the Trump administration.

There is added downward pressure on crypto after a strong rally in the wake of Trump's election, as some investors have felt disappointed at the lack of immediate moves to boost crypto or loosen regulations since he took office.

Trump's moves have fallen short of what people bullish on crypto were expecting, with some having hoped that the government would announce plans to buy bitcoin.

Maybe open a long position on Ethereum with low margin at your own risk but I wouldn't encourage this as financial advice DYOR