US Stock Market Loses $1.5 Trillion, Cryptocurrency Market Loses $300 Billion, Trump Holds Lavish Press Conference

Last night, the Dow Jones Industrial Average opened up 300 points, only to take a sharp turn downwards, plummeting 1,100 points within a few hours. Between 10:00 am and 3:30 pm Eastern Time, the market capitalization of the SP 500 evaporated by $1.5 trillion. At the same time, the cryptocurrency market saw a nearly $300 billion evaporation.

On Sunday, following a surge in the crypto market due to Trump's announcement of establishing a strategic reserve for cryptocurrencies like SOL, XRP, and ADA, Trump quickly initiated a "reverse washout" for the U.S. stock market, causing a significant drop in the crypto market as well. The entire capital market was once again "raided" by Mr. President. What exactly happened? It all seems to stem from a press conference Trump held regarding an assignment...

Investing in TSMC, Easing Russia

Last night, the SP 500 Index opened up around 30 points, continuing the momentum from Friday. However, shortly after, the Trump administration issued an "investment statement," triggering selling pressure in the market.

Trump announced a $100 billion investment in TSMC in the U.S., including:

1. Building 5 factories in Arizona;

2. Creating thousands of jobs;

3. Bringing TSM's total investment in the U.S. to $165 billion;

4. Generating "hundreds of billions of dollars in economic activity."

In the announcement, Trump stated that this investment plan will advance America's long-sought goal of revitalizing the U.S. semiconductor industry. For the capital market, this undoubtedly exacerbates the ongoing concern over the Taiwan Strait issue.

Simultaneously, as President Trump made the announcement last night, The Wall Street Journal strategically published a report on Ukraine, stating that the Trump administration has officially ceased funding for new weapons sales to Ukraine. Subsequently, according to Reuters, the U.S. is also devising a plan to ease sanctions on Russia.

Prior to this, the Ukraine crisis had reached a stalemate due to a "live broadcast quarrel" between two presidents. The relaxation of policies towards Russia at this moment is seen as favoring Russia and is not conducive to furthering peace talks.

Tariff Madness

Following the completion of the investment announcement, Trump immediately turned to a QA session, further fueling market panic selling.

First, Trump confirmed that starting on March 4th, a 25% tariff will be imposed on Canada and Mexico. Later, a reporter asked, "Regarding the tariffs, is there still room for Canada and Mexico to reach an agreement before midnight?" To this, Trump stated that there is no room for further negotiation on tariffs with Mexico and Canada.

Subsequently, Trump announced that starting on April 2nd, tariffs will be imposed on imported agricultural products. Even worse, he stated that tariffs will be imposed on countries that engage in "currency devaluation tactics" as a sanction. A few minutes later, the White House released a statement saying that Trump had signed an executive order to increase tariffs on China to 20%.

This means that tariffs on China have increased by 20 percentage points in two months. In comparison, it took Trump two years in his first term to raise tariffs on China to such a high level. Under the heavy blow of tariffs, the US stock market instantly evaporated $1.5 trillion...

Strategic Reserves Likely Hard to Realize

During this press conference, Trump did not mention a word about the cryptocurrency strategic reserve he had previously mentioned. This has also raised doubts in the market about his sincerity and the real capacity of this administration.

BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes mentioned in a tweet some time ago that the fundamental problem with governments hoarding any asset is that they primarily buy and sell assets for political gain rather than financial gain. And those who are building truly decentralized technology and applications do not have enough financial resources to play politics at this critical time in the cycle.

Yesterday, Arthur further stated in a post that he believes the government simply does not have the money to purchase the cryptocurrency assets needed for strategic reserves, "There is nothing new here, just hot air. Let's talk when the cryptocurrency working group receives congressional approval to borrow money or revalue gold prices." Arthur believes that unless Trump moves towards a "Bitcoin" national reserve, the market will take a turn for the worse.