Bitcoin Falls to $115K in Asia Hours as Fresh Tariff Concerns, Profit-Taking Weigh on Sentiment

Bitcoin Faces Pressure as Profit-Taking and Tariff Shock Trigger Market Pullback

Bitcoin (BTC) traded lower in early Asia Friday, slipping 2.3% to around $115,500, as renewed profit-taking collided with a fresh wave of macroeconomic risk stemming from newly announced U.S. trade tariffs.

Profit-Taking Wave Intensifies

Blockchain analytics firm CryptoQuant flagged a major $6–$8 billion profit realization in late July—the third such spike of the current bull cycle. The move was driven by a cohort of short-term holders and recently emerged whale wallets, who began aggressively offloading positions.

On July 25, a legacy “OG” whale dumped 80,000 BTC, prompting a spike in exchange inflows to 70,000 BTC—levels often associated with peak distribution. In tandem, Ethereum whales took profits from wrapped assets and stablecoins, including USDT and USDC, locking in as much as $40 million per day.

Trump’s New Tariffs Add Macro Stress

Sentiment deteriorated further after President Trump unveiled a new round of global tariffs on Thursday, targeting key trade partners including Canada. The surprise policy move triggered a broad selloff across risk assets, weighing on Asian equity benchmarks like the Nikkei 225 and KOSPI.

Historically, crypto has mirrored equity drawdowns in response to tariff shocks. CoinGlass data confirmed nearly $260 million in long liquidations in the past four hours, underscoring fragility in leverage-driven positions.

Market Rotation and Consolidation Underway

CryptoQuant notes that prior phases of heavy profit-taking were followed by multi-month consolidation ranges, suggesting BTC may enter a similar pause. The Coinbase premium has flipped negative, signaling that U.S.-based demand has cooled, and American investors are no longer paying a premium on BTC.

Enflux, a digital asset market maker, pointed to a lack of conviction:

“Price action may remain range-bound and rotational unless BTC or ETH can reclaim recent highs on strong volume.”

Market Overview

BTC: Down 2.3%, trading near $115,500 amid profit-taking and macro-driven pressure.
ETH: Hovering near $3,800 following a 50% rally in July—its strongest month since 2022—fueled by ETF inflows and bullish price targets suggesting a move toward $15K–$16K.
Gold: Briefly touched $3,296 before settling at $3,287.39 as traders balanced dollar strength with inflation hedging.
Nikkei 225: Opened down 0.65% in Tokyo; Topix index flat.
S&P 500 Futures: Slightly lower as traders await U.S. nonfarm payroll data and digest earnings from tech giants.