Bitcoin Stays Unchanged as White House Delivers Mixed Signals on Tech Tariffs

Bitcoin (BTC) remains steady, trading above $84K, as East Asian markets open for the week, with major Chinese stock indices posting gains. The cryptocurrency market is grappling with mixed messages from the White House concerning tariffs on semiconductors and tech components.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick revealed over the weekend that the White House’s exemption of products like smartphones, computers, and semiconductors from tariffs is only a temporary measure. President Trump later confirmed this in a press briefing, noting that the final tariff rates would be announced next week, but with some “flexibility” on the issue.

“Markets saw a significant rebound when popular consumer electronics were exempted from the 125% tariffs on China,” said BTSE COO Jeff Mei in a Telegram message to CoinDesk. “Even after Trump suggested that these products would be moved into a different tariff category instead of being fully exempt, markets held onto their gains amid reports that business leaders had persuaded the administration to reduce some of the most severe tariffs.”

Mei added, “We foresee difficulties in shifting global supply chains away from China in the short term. Low-margin, high-volume manufacturing will likely move to other Asian countries after trade negotiations. However, we expect this rally to be short-lived and anticipate continued market volatility.”

In response, China has imposed its own tariffs on U.S.-origin semiconductors, with a 34% duty. However, since China views Taiwan as part of its territory and many U.S. semiconductor companies like AMD and Nvidia rely on Taiwan’s TSMC for manufacturing, these companies are largely unaffected by the new tariffs.

Analysts in China acknowledge that the semiconductor tariffs may cause temporary disruptions but believe they also provide an opportunity for accelerating domestic innovation and supply-chain restructuring, which could benefit China’s semiconductor sector in the long run.

In Taiwan, reports indicate that TSMC is speeding up the construction of a new semiconductor fabrication facility in Arizona, aiming to ensure a more consistent supply of U.S.-produced chips amidst ongoing uncertainty in the sector.

Equity markets in China are also awaiting clarity on the tariff situation before making major moves. Shanghai’s SSE Composite Index has risen by 0.8%, Shenzhen’s SZSE, which is tech-heavy, has gained 0.9%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index has surged 2.4%.

In the cryptocurrency space, Hong Kong’s Bosera HashKey Ether Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) has been granted approval to offer staking services, following recent regulatory updates from the city’s Securities and Futures Commission.

However, Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas highlighted on X that the market has been less favorable toward ether ETFs. Short ether ETFs have outperformed, while ether itself has dropped by 47% over the past year, according to CoinDesk data. In contrast, the CoinDesk 20 index is up 14% during the same period.