Trump Tariffs Return—Why Is Bitcoin Still Pushing Toward $80K?

By Arslan Tabish | Edited By Ammar Raza,August 24, 2026, 10:00 PM

Trump tariffs returned to the market spotlight on Monday after President Donald Trump threatened 50% duties on Canadian vehicles, automotive parts, and steel from Jan. 1, 2027. Bitcoin briefly traded near $79,000 before rebounding toward $80,000.

BTC traded around $78,800 at the time of writing, up about 2%. The recovery placed the cryptocurrency within reach of the psychological $80,000 level despite renewed trade uncertainty.

The latest Trump tariffs would cover Canadian cars, trucks, automotive parts, and steel. In a Truth Social post, the president urged manufacturers to build inside the United States to avoid the duties.

Source: Truth Social

Why Have Trump Tariffs Escalated Against Canada?

The warning came after failed negotiations between Washington and Ottawa regarding Friday trade talks. The deal was intended to cut tariffs in the US on Canadian cars and light trucks from 25% to 15%.  

Also Read: Bitcoin Price Reclaims 1,130-Day SMA as Bullish Cycle Signals Strengthen

Furthermore, the duties on steel and aluminum would have been reduced from 50% to 25%.  

As per Reuters, the talks ended up due to disagreements about how much relief would be extended to medium- and heavy-duty trucks.  

The retaliation would involve the application of dollar-for-dollar countertariffs on certain US products from Sept. 8. According to Canadian prime minister Mark Carney, the US tariff was an act of aggression and declared the situation a trade war.  

Trump claimed that Canada conducts 95% of its business with the United States. However, Reuters reported that more than three-quarters of Canadian goods exports go to the U.S., while nearly half of its goods imports come from its southern neighbor.

The close integration of the North American automotive industry can affect both nations. As per Canada’s Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association, the US assembling plants rely on Canadian parts and may face production disruption.  

The president’s second-term trade policy still revolves around the tariffs imposed by Trump. In July, the Trump administration imposed the tariffs of 10% and 12.5% on goods of 60 trading nations with some exceptions.

Why Did Bitcoin Recover Toward $79,000?

Bitcoin was near the $78,200 level in connection with Trump’s statement before the rally. This correlation suggests that the cryptocurrency was sensitive to news about trade issues, but there is no evidence that tariffs were the cause of the fall.

The reason was also the assumption that Treasury Department officials would be able to make bond buybacks using the department’s General Account worth almost $1 trillion. However, there is neither the amount nor the schedule of buybacks yet.

Before, the U.S. Treasury Department raised the maximum volume of long-term buyback operations of liquidity support from $2 billion to at least $4 billion. The buybacks will last from September 9 to November 4.

The bond buybacks may help to improve liquidity and lessen the pressure on longer-term yields. This situation may contribute to the performance of risky assets, but the bond buybacks do not create demand for Bitcoin directly.

However, in an X post, Daan Crypto Trades stated that Bitcoin outperformed most of the cryptocurrencies in the top 50 amid the recent rally despite the strong performance of alts. 

Source: X

According to him, increased dominance of Bitcoin is usually a characteristic of the market breakout. Daan believes that Bitcoin leads and then strong alts follow. On the other hand, the rise in smaller and risky tokens may indicate that the local top is coming.

Also Read: Saylor Calls Bitcoin “Digital Energy” as Strategy’s Bet Rebounds

This article contains market analysis and price predictions. These are not guarantees. Crypto markets are volatile. Always DYOR. Not financial advice.