Bitcoin Tumbles Below $80K Alongside 5% Plunge in Nasdaq as China Tariff Tiff Escalates

What to know:

Bitcoin and tech stocks tumbled Thursday as investors thought twice about yesterday's historic rally.

A late-morning White House clarification raised the effective China tariff rate to 145% from 125%, helping push the Nasdaq from a 4% loss to 5.5%; bitcoin followed suit, sliding back to $79,000.

Gold surged to a record high and the dollar sank, as traders shifted focus from inflation to geopolitical risk.

After U.S. markets enjoyed a brief gasp of relief on Wednesday, charts got ugly again on Thursday as focus shifted to a potential bigger conflict between the U.S. and China.

Bitcoin (BTC), which rose more than 8% the day prior, dipped about 4% below $80,000 again on Thursday. The decline in bitcoin came alongside a renewed plunge in the Nasdaq, which was lower by 5.5% following yesterday's 12% rally as traders are assessing U.S. President Donald Trump’s next steps in his tariff policy.