Bitcoin, XRP, and Solana climb as investors weigh trade policy uncertainty and growing odds of an interest rate cut in September.
Cryptocurrency markets ticked up on Tuesday, Sept. 2, following a mix of macroeconomic developments, including a federal court ruling that struck down many of President Donald Trump’s tariffs and rising expectations that the Federal Reserve could cut interest rates for the first time since 2024.
Bitcoin (BTC) rose 1.7% over the past 24 hours to $110,684, leaving it up nearly 1% for the week. XRP increased 1.6% over 24 hours to $2.79, down 4.7% for the week, while Solana (SOL) edged up 1.4% to around $201, gaining 5.3% over the last seven days.
Ethereum (ETH), however, bucked the trend by dropping 1.4% over 24 hours to $4,296, down 5% on the week. This comes around one week after the second-largest cryptocurrency reached a new all-time high of $4,926 on Aug. 24.
In other altcoin news, pumpfun’s native token, PUMP, surged 9% on Tuesday following token buybacks exceeding 5% of the total supply. Meanwhile, World Liberty Financial’s (WLFI) token is currently trading at a $22 billion valuation, down 7% after launching on Monday, Sept. 1.
Overall, the total cryptocurrency market capitalization is up 1.3% over the past 24 hours to $3.9 trillion, with Bitcoin dominance at 57.6% and Ethereum at 13.3%, according to CoinGecko.
Over the past 24 hours, around $451 million in crypto positions were liquidated, including $289 million of long positions and $162 million of shorts, per CoinGlass. Ethereum led with more than $148 million in liquidations, followed by Bitcoin at $80 million.
ETFs
Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) suffered $126 million in net outflows on Monday, Sept. 1, ending a four-day streak of inflows that had totaled more than $500 million, according to SoSoValue.
Meanwhile, spot Ethereum ETFs experienced withdrawals of nearly $164 million on Sep. 1, breaking a five-day inflow streak that totaled around $1.8 billion.
Macro Concerns
The market uptick comes as investors weigh the impact of the Trump tariffs ruling alongside the possibility of a Federal Reserve rate cut.
While the Friday court decision struck down several of Trump’s tariffs, adding uncertainty around trade, it has helped foster a risk-on environment, according to Emir Ibrahim, analyst at digital asset trading firm Zerocap.
“The result, a market that wants to stay risk-on, but with a messy undercurrent of trade friction and political gamesmanship,” Ibrahim said. “This backdrop matters for crypto. Equities and China’s recent rally signal plenty of appetite for risk, but a firmer dollar and the tariff drumbeat left crypto as the release valve.”
He noted that each new headline has affected BTC more than traditional stocks, highlighting that market positions remain crowded and leverage is high. “BTC attempted several times to clear $112k–113k, but each push higher was sold into, leaving the price back under $110k and locking it into a pattern of lower highs and lows,” Ibrahim said.
Meanwhile, Trump criticized the court’s move on Sunday in a post on Truth Social. “Without Tariffs, and all of the TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS we have already taken in, our Country would be completely destroyed, and our military power would be instantly obliterated,” Trump wrote.
Expectations of lower interest rates have also fueled risk-taking, helping to lift major digital assets, experts say. The Federal Reserve is scheduled to make its decision on Sept. 17, with the odds of a cut currently standing at 89%, according to MacroMicro.
