Trump's Tariff Exemption Quickly Leads to Positive Crypto Reaction!

President Trump has made yet another surprise decision, exempting a wide range of tech products. These include smartphones, laptops, computer chips, and other components — from the newly imposed reciprocal tariffs came as a surprise to many, especially after his earlier announcement of steep 125% tariffs on Chinese imports.

According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, these exemptions are meant to give American companies time to relocate their production out of China and into the United States. The excluded items represent around $390B in imports, with over $100B coming from China alone. This move is seen as a significant softening in Trump's trade stance, especially considering that the U.S. imported over $41 billion worth of smartphones and $36 billion worth of computers from China in 2024. In other words, it was exactly what tech and crypto traders were hoping for.

For tech companies like Apple, Nvidia, and others heavily reliant on Chinese manufacturing, the exemption is a major relief. Analysts had feared that the original tariffs would cause prices of popular electronics to skyrocket, with some reports suggesting iPhones could cost up to $3,500. The financial impact on major U.S. tech stocks was already being felt, with Apple alone losing more than $640B in market value in the days following the initial tariff announcement. But with the exemption in place, these companies can now avoid massive supply chain disruptions, price inflation, and customer backlash—at least for now.

As mentioned, this development is also good news for the cryptocurrency market, which had already been seeing a rebound in volume over the past week. Bitcoin just had $84.08B in trading volume, the highest week of 2025.

Historically, crypto assets like Bitcoin often move in tandem with technology stocks, with many poking fun at its multi-year pattern of trading similar to "high-leveraged tech stocks". Essentially, when tech stocks are doing well, investors tend to feel more confident in buying cryptocurrencies too. So, by lifting this black cloud over the tech sector, Trump's tariff exemptions have indirectly lifted pressure off crypto markets. And we're already seeing plenty of evidence of this.

In fact, just hours after the news broke, Bitcoin jumped back up to a weekend high of $85.9K, rebounding strongly after a volatile start to April. As you would expect, the resistance that was sitting at about $83.0K was breached in tandem with the announcement of these exemptions, as erupted:

The connection between tech stocks and crypto performance lies in how investors view them as part of the "innovation" asset class. When fear and uncertainty dominate markets — like during a trade war — investors often pull money out of both tech and crypto. But when risks are reduced, as they have been with the exemptions, capital tends to flow back into these sectors. So even though this policy change doesn’t directly involve Bitcoin or blockchain technology, the improved outlook for tech stocks has sparked a bounce in crypto prices while global stock markets are closed for the weekend. You can likely expect Monday to open with many tech stocks playing catch up with this current crypto rally, seeing how correlative the sectors have been, particularly in the past month.

Additionally, the exemption of semiconductors and computer parts can be seen as a longer-term benefit to the crypto ecosystem. These components are essential for mining cryptocurrencies, building blockchain infrastructure, and developing AI-based crypto tools. If production and supply of these parts remain uninterrupted and affordable, it ensures that the backbone of the crypto industry — both in mining and development — continues without disruption. This means smoother operations for crypto exchanges, wallet providers, and tech startups working on blockchain solutions.

The crowd reaction to the news is somewhat quiet due to the reduced news tracking over the weekend. However, those who have been keeping up with these tariff changes have been confidently touting that they expect higher prices, according to the price predictions across social media.

While Trump’s trade policies remain complex and somewhat unpredictable, the targeted exemptions for tech gear provide short-term clarity and relief. Investors now feel more confident that inflation in consumer electronics will be avoided, and that companies won't be forced to raise prices or cut innovation. This isn't the end of the tariff fears by any stretch, but it does alleviate one of the biggest sector worries that cryptocurrencies were facing.

We have already seen a mild bullish reaction for cryptocurrency, and there should be a stock market boost on Monday to match, which should drive Bitcoin and altcoins up even further. But after the initial reaction, that is when things will get interesting and crowd FOMO may drive any rallies to a halt.

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Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in the post are for general informational purposes only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual or on any specific security or investment product.