The price of Bitcoin crashed below $80,000 on Monday morning as financial markets reacted to ongoing concerns over inflation and a possible U.S. recession, fueled by President Trump’s comments over the weekend.

Asked by Fox News in a Sunday interview about whether he expects a recession this year, Trump declined to rule it out.

“I hate to predict things like that,” he replied, adding that there will be a “period of transition” as the economy digests his sizable tariffs on neighbors Canada and Mexico, as well as China. Trump’s moves around tariffs, including delays and shifts in the scale of them, have rocked markets for weeks.

Bitcoin dove as low as $79,553 on Monday morning, rebounding slightly to $79,785 as of this writing. The leading cryptocurrency is currently down almost 5% on the day, falling 14% on the week amid volatility fueled not only by tariff moves but also speculation over Trump’s strategic Bitcoin reserve plans.

Ethereum is also down 5% to a current price of $2,013 after coming within a dollar of the $2,000 mark late Sunday. ETH hasn’t been below $2,000 since November 2023.

Other major coins have posted much sharper losses over the last 24 hours, with Cardano (ADA) falling 10% to $0.69, Solana (SOL) down 9% to $121, and Dogecoin (DOGE) diving 8% to $0.166.

Stock markets are similarly showing losses so far Monday, with the Nasdaq plunging by more than 3% and the S&P 500 down 1.8%. Traders are pulling back ahead of crucial economic reports expected later this week—including the latest Producer Price Index (PPI) and Consumer Price Index (CPI) updates—that will indicate whether inflation is being kept under control.

Treasury Secretary Howard Lutnick insists the U.S. economy is on solid footing despite concerns from Wall Street that a recession is in the cards.

“Absolutely not,” he said on a Sunday edition of Meet the Press when asked if Americans should prepare for a downturn.

“There’s going to be no recession in America,” he continued. “It’s like the same people who thought Donald Trump wasn’t a winner a year ago. Donald Trump is a winner. He’s going to win for the American people.”

A recession is two consecutive quarters of economic contraction, caused by imbalances from external or internal factors, or combination of both.

This argument contradicts comments made by the President earlier, who didn’t rule out a recession, calling it part of a transition.

Lutnick argued that Trump’s tariff strategy will force other countries to lower their trade barriers, unleashing American growth and driving $1.3 trillion in new investment.

“We’re going to unleash America out to the world,” he said in response to warnings from JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs about a tariff-induced recession. “You are going to see over the next two years the greatest set of growth coming from America.”

While Lutnick acknowledged that tariffs could make foreign goods more expensive, he framed them as part of a broader effort to cut the deficit and lower borrowing costs.

“When you balance the budget… you drive interest rates down 150 basis points. Mortgages come smashing down. The cost of your home will come smashing down,” he said.

Crypto traders, however, don’t seem to have the same optimism.

Bitcoin (BTC) fell 7% on Sunday, dropping to $80,000 and nearing its 2025 low of $78,000.

Ether (ETH), Solana (SOL), and XRP (XRP) followed, while meme coins like Dogecoin (DOGE) and Cardano (ADA) tumbled nearly 12%.

On Polymarket, bettors are increasingly bracing for a slowdown, although the chances of one occurring remain slim.

A contract asking about the probability of a U.S. recession in 2025 has seen the Yes odds jump to 41%, a 16% increase in recent weeks.

Meanwhile, the latest U.S. jobs report showed 151,000 jobs added in February, CoinDesk recently reported, roughly in line with expectations, although the unemployment rate ticked up to 4.1% and January’s job gains were revised lower.

However, layoffs in the public sector as part of the White House’s DOGE efforts may push these numbers up next quarter.

While labor market resilience has kept recession calls at bay, signs of slowing growth are emerging, with the Atlanta Fed’s GDPNow model forecasting a negative 2.8% Q1 growth rate.

However, another contract gives just 3% chance of a recession happening before May. The first quarter ends March 31.

The crypto market continues to bleed as traders reassess the impact of trade tensions on global economic activity and President Donald Trump’s Bitcoin Reserve order.

Bitcoin has dipped 4.8% to $81,729 while Ethereum is down 8%, hovering just above November 2023 prices near $2,000. Dogecoin leads losses among the top 10 cryptos, down about 13% to $0.16.

That’s despite Trump signing an Executive Order on Thursday, officially establishing the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and authorizing the creation of a digital asset stockpile.

“The knee-jerk reaction lower likely stems from the realization that no actual budget has been allocated for Bitcoin purchases in the near term,” Singapore-based digital asset trading firm QCP Capital wrote in a recent note.

Indeed, the order directs the Secretaries of Treasury and Commerce to develop “budget-neutral strategies” for acquiring additional Bitcoin but stops short of utilizing taxpayer funds to conduct spot purchases.

That appears to have rubbed investors the wrong way, according to David Lawant, head of research at FalconX.

“Bitcoin tumbled about 5% immediately following the announcement before partially recouping most of the losses, reflecting short-term expectations that the U.S. government will not be immediately committing to acquiring crypto assets in the open market,” he wrote Friday.

Still, some industry analysts see the move as a significant milestone for Bitcoin’s institutional acceptance.

The executive order establishes a Bitcoin Strategic Reserve, separate from the Digital Asset Stockpile comprising a basket of altcoins, including Ethereum.

The reserve is expected to be seeded with Bitcoin seized through criminal and civil asset forfeitures, though it’s unclear how much will ultimately be allocated.

U.S. government wallets hold approximately 198,000 BTC (worth about $16.1 billion at current prices), according to Arkham Intelligence.

However, some of those holdings stem from exchange hacks and may not be available for the reserve if returned to prior owners.

The order also mandates a 60-day Treasury review of legal and investment considerations for the reserve, while Treasury and Commerce must explore ways to acquire more Bitcoin without impacting the federal budget or costing taxpayers.

Potential solutions include reallocating a portion of U.S. gold reserves or tapping into the Exchange Stabilization Fund.

“The industry reaction to the order is almost universally positive,” Lawant wrote, adding that the move sets a precedent for sovereign Bitcoin adoption.

A key question now is whether Congress will take action to formalize a long-term BTC acquisition strategy. 

While an executive order sets policy, legislation could make Bitcoin holdings a more permanent fixture of U.S. financial reserves.

The Bitcoin for America event on March 11, hosted by Senator Cynthia Lummis and the Bitcoin Policy Institute, is expected to shape further discussions on legislative involvement.

Until then, traders appear to be demanding further clarity on regulation as they also weigh the broader impact of Trump’s trade tariffs, which have rattled global markets and pressured risk assets, including crypto.