A modest reversal from Friday evening’s carnage in crypto markets is underway after some calming trade war-related remarks from both Beijing and Washington.
The walk-backs began late Saturday when China’s Ministry of Commerce said its rare-earth export controls are not blanket bans, and that eligible applications will continue to receive licenses. The agency further said it expected those controls to have just a “minimal impact” on global production and supply chains.
In D.C. meanwhile, Vice President Vance on Sunday morning said President Trump appreciates his friendship with Chinese Premier Xi Jinping and is willing to be a reasonable negotiator with that country.
Shortly after, the president himself took to his Truth Social to lighten the mood: “Don’t worry about China, it will be all fine! Highly respected President Xi just had a bad moment. He doesn’t want Depression for this country, and neither do I. The U.S.A wants to help China, not hurt it!!!”
The news has sparked a bounce across crypto, with bitcoin (BTC) returning to just above $114,000, higher by about 3% over the past 24 hours. In the far more harder hit alt sector, the moves are more sizable, with ether (ETH), solana (SOL) and dogecoin (DOGE) all ahead in the 6%-8% area.
Needless to say, the bounce has erased only a modest portion of the losses since Trump’s trade war threats on Friday tanked markets. Over the past week, bitcoin is down 7%, ether 8%, XRP and SOL 15%, and DOGE 19%.