After weeks of anticipation, US President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” event on 2 April 2025 marked the onset of a range of tariffs, sending shockwaves across markets.
In an unprecedented move, tariffs of at least 10% on practically all imports into the United States. An additional “reciprocal” tariffs on 57 countries was announced.
Here is where we stand, three days later, and how CRO reacted:
The Stock Market:
The tariffs triggered a sharp drop in the stock market. Within 24 hours, the S&P 500 fell by 4.84%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index took a 5.97% nosedive. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 1,679 points.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 dropped by 4.5 percent, while South Korea’s KOSPI and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng each fell more than 2 percent.
Fears of recession, inflation and an increase in unemployment rates in the US have been rife, especially as retaliation from key global players is expected.
“While uncertainty remains elevated, it is now becoming clear that the tariff increases will be significantly larger than expected,” US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said. “The same is likely to be true of the economic effects, which will include higher inflation and slower growth.”
JPMorgan has increased its estimated odds of a global economic recession from 40% to 60% in 2025.
Bitcoin, Crypto and Crypto Stocks:
Crypto-related stocks such as Strategy and Coinbase also struggled to retain value. Bitcoin miners were also impacted. CoinShares Crypto Miners ETF (WGMI) — which tracks a diverse basket of Bitcoin mining stocks — lost roughly 13% of its value on Liberation Day.
The announcement also led to liquidation of over $300,000,000 from the cryptocurrency market within 4 hours. Bitcoin itself lost over 3% of its value, and is currently trading at $82,707. Ethereum, XRP and Solana fell by 4%, 3% and 4%, respectively within the first 24 hours.
However, a phenomena of Bitcoin and crypto markets decoupling from the stock markets were witnessed in the days that followed:
Analysts believe that due to the risk of inflation, traditional investors might be pivoting towards BTC, creating the potential of a price surge in the near term as more tariffs roll out.
Cronos:
Cronos entered the tariff turbulence after a strong performance in the past week, rising by up to 30% in value at one point. It reached a monthly high of $0.11 on March 24 2025 and had since mostly maintained a stable price of over $0.10 until the announcement of tariffs.
Upon announcement, CRO immediately fell to $0.094. Unlike BTC, the token did not recover on 4 April and 5 April. However, it currently continues to stay above the psychological price point of $0.090 and is trading at $0.091.
The bullish sentiment from last week—driven by milestone achievements and a strong long-term vision—still holds, but the token’s budding close ties to US markets and investments raise concerns about its vulnerability amid escalating tariff tensions.
