Bitcoin Pares Gains During Trump Speech After Topping $66,000 - Yahoo Finance

(Bloomberg) -- Bitcoin trimmed part of its early Asia gains during US President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address to Congress on Wednesday after a morning jump that defied sustained pressure.

Bitcoin was up more than 2% to roughly $65,500 at 1 p.m. in Singapore after rising as much as 3.52% ahead of Trump’s speech, its biggest intraday gain since Feb. 13. Ether rose more than 2.5% at $1,906, after surging as much as 4.84%.

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Smaller tokens also advanced with more positive market sentiment. Solana gained as much as 5.48% while XRP was up as much as 3.53%, before also paring gains.

The initial uptick came alongside a rise in equities ahead of the State of the Union address, during which Trump defended his economic record. A Supreme Court decision invalidating his ability to use emergency powers to impose so-called reciprocal tariffs — a key policy initiative — contributed to a plunge in crypto prices earlier this week, after Trump invoked a different authority to say he would impose 15% global tariffs.

Caroline Mauron, co-founder of Orbit Markets, attributed the early gains to buying during a dip in prices. “The move higher likely reflects some dip-buying behavior after the extended selloff,” she said, adding that reaching $70,000 would shift the narrative.

Yet even before Trump left the lectern, crypto market strength had begun to wane. The president, who was seen as pro-crypto when he returned to the White House last year, did not mention digital assets in his speech.

The industry mood remains cautious. Put options worth nearly $230 million with March 6 expiry were concentrated around the $58,000 level, according to Deribit data, signaling demand for downside protection.

“The massive put buying for March 6 expiry reflects concerns over a US strike on Iran,” said Sean McNulty, Asia-Pacific derivatives trading lead at FalconX. Bets on Polymarket show 37% odds of a US strike on Iran by March 7 and 48% by March 15.

(Updates throughout. A previous version corrected the Ether price in the second paragraph.)

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