Bitcoin recovers ground following U.S. trading hours as Donald Trump touts a 78% drop in the trade deficit.

Bitcoin traded in choppy fashion Thursday, bouncing back toward $67,000 after briefly sliding to around $65,900, as markets absorbed fresh remarks on trade from U.S. President Donald Trump.

In a late Wednesday Truth Social post, Trump said tariffs had reduced the U.S. trade deficit by 78% and predicted the balance could turn positive later this year — something he framed as a historic shift. For investors, though, the exact percentage mattered less than the policy implications behind the statement.

Tariffs can function as a tax on imported goods, potentially pushing prices higher and complicating the Federal Reserve’s path on monetary policy. If markets begin to expect interest rates to remain elevated for longer, the U.S. dollar typically strengthens, creating headwinds for risk-sensitive assets such as cryptocurrencies.

That macro linkage has been evident in recent sessions, with bitcoin behaving more like a barometer of liquidity and rate expectations than a story driven by crypto-specific developments.

Trade dynamics are also supported by recent data. In early January, the U.S. trade deficit narrowed sharply to roughly $29.4 billion — the smallest gap since 2009 — amid weaker imports, stronger exports and the ripple effects of tariff threats. Still, economists noted that fluctuations in non-monetary gold flows contributed significantly to the monthly swing, potentially overstating the improvement in underlying trade conditions.

If the renewed tariff narrative translates into sustained dollar strength and tighter financial conditions, bitcoin’s rebounds may struggle to gain traction. If it proves to be short-lived political rhetoric, attention is likely to return to market flows, positioning and whether buyers can reclaim key technical levels.