Crypto Markets Jump as Treasury Secretary Hints at Trade Deals Before Tariff Deadline

Bitcoin briefly surged past $109,000 on Sunday, accompanied by strong gains across several major cryptocurrencies like XRP, Solana’s SOL, and dogecoin, as optimism grew around potential U.S. trade agreements.

The rally was sparked by comments from U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who suggested that the U.S. might finalize multiple trade deals ahead of the looming “Liberation Day” tariff deadline on July 9.

Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency by market value, rose more than 1%, momentarily pushing above $109,000. Meanwhile, XRP and Solana’s SOL token each climbed over 2%, and meme coin dogecoin (DOGE) advanced by 3% to reach $0.1697, based on CoinDesk data. Ethereum’s ether, the second-largest crypto asset, also saw a 1.5% gain, hitting $2,550.

Speaking with CNN, Bessent shared that the U.S. is close to sealing several trade deals before the crucial July 9 cutoff, when the temporary freeze on tariff hikes announced on April 2 is set to expire.

“President Trump will be sending letters to some of our trading partners indicating that if negotiations don’t move forward, then on August 1, tariffs will revert to the April 2 levels,” Bessent explained, as quoted by Reuters. “So I expect we’ll see a lot of deals finalized quickly.”

Bessent emphasized that negotiations must wrap up before July 9 to avoid higher tariffs coming back into effect on August 1.

“This is the timeline. If countries want to move faster, that’s great. If they prefer to return to the old tariff rates, that’s their choice,” Bessent told CNN, adding that some trading partners were “dragging their feet” on the talks.

Since returning to office earlier this year, President Donald Trump has reinforced his economic agenda by imposing new tariffs on imported goods. The administration views tariffs as a key strategy for reshaping trade relationships and reducing the U.S. trade deficit.

On April 2, Trump announced sweeping tariff measures, including a 10% baseline tax on all U.S. trade partners, with even steeper rates for certain nations, reaching as high as 50%. The news initially rattled financial markets, sending U.S. stocks tumbling and bitcoin plummeting to roughly $75,000.

Concerns over economic fallout led the administration to pause the new tariffs for 90 days about a week later.

Since then, signs of so-called U.S. exceptionalism have reappeared across markets, pushing major U.S. equity indices to record highs. Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq have outperformed global peers, while bitcoin has staged a strong recovery, consistently trading above the $100,000 mark.

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