Solana Jumps 8% as Markets Weigh Shift in Trump Tariffs

The price of Solana jumped on Monday as Bitcoin headed toward $90,000 and investors weighed whether the White House would impose narrower tariffs than originally feared.

President Donald Trump’s administration still plans on imposing “reciprocal tariffs” in nine days on U.S. trading partners, but certain countries and industry-specific goods may be exempt from sweeping import taxes, Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.

While the reports eased investors’ fears of rising trade tensions, the president added a new tariff to his list on Monday. Starting April 2, countries purchasing oil and gas from Venezuela will face a 25% tariff on their trade with the U.S, he said on Truth Social.

In the statement, Trump hailed April 2 as “Liberation Day.” For weeks, his administration has built up anticipation around the date after delaying tariffs on Mexico and Canada.

Even though Bitcoin’s price is trending upwards, analysts at the Singapore-based trading firm QCP said the price action might not lead to a sustained breakout. In a note on Monday, they said “upcoming tariff escalations” could soon put risk assets under pressure again.

Despite Trump’s threat to countries purchasing energy from Venezuela, Bitcoin’s price rose 4.2% on Monday to around $88,500, according to the crypto data provider CoinGecko. Solana’s price meanwhile climbed to $142, showing a roughly 8% increase over the past day.

QCP analysts noted that Bitcoin’s “rally appears driven by genuine spot demand,” as opposed to leveraged bets in the Bitcoin futures market that “tend to unwind abruptly on liquidations.”

The value of outstanding Bitcoin futures contracts had increased to $53 billion on Monday, but remains lower than it did a month prior, according to  crypto data provider CoinGlass. Meanwhile, crypto investment products snapped a 5-week losing streak, per CoinShares.

“When the market becomes very bullish, traders will leverage their capital to become ‘extra long’ via futures, perps and options,” Greg Magadini, director of derivatives at the crypto data provider Amberdata, explained to Decrypt. “This can make the market vulnerable to sharp pullbacks as positions are financed by thin layers of capital.”

Solana’s resurgence comes as some meme coins battered by Trump’s trade war show signs of a revival. The Solana-based Fartcoin (FARTCOIN), for example, rose 15% to $0.56 while hitting its highest price in nearly six weeks, according to CoinGecko.

The president himself may have played a role in bolstering the price of meme coins. On Sunday, he referenced his Solana-based meme coin on Truth Social. It was up 3% on Monday, changing hands around $11.81, according to CoinGecko.

Edited by James Rubin