Trump's Tariffs Spark Ethereum ETF Trading Frenzy

US Ethereum ETFs Witness Record Trading Volumes Amid Trump's New Tariffs

US Ethereum ETFs experienced a record trading volume of $1.5 billion on Monday, February 3, as President Trump's new tariff announcements sent shockwaves through the crypto market. The nine US spot Ethereum ETFs generated this record volume, surpassing their previous high of $1.22 billion set on December 19, 2024. This trading volume is the largest since the funds' launch day on July 23, 2024, when they generated $1.11 billion in volume.

BlackRock's ETHA product led the trading volumes with $736 million, followed by Grayscale's converted ETHE fund with $415 million, and Fidelity's FETH with $155 million. These figures reflect the respective market shares of these ETFs by trading volume. Cumulative US spot Ethereum ETF volume currently stands at nearly $22 billion.

In response to President Trump's plan to implement 25% tariffs on imported goods from Canada and Mexico, with 10% tariffs on Canadian energy and Chinese goods, the crypto market experienced significant turmoil. Ether, one of the hardest hit cryptocurrencies, collapsed by approximately 36% to a low of around $2,100 on Monday from its Saturday high. Bitcoin fell more than 10% to a low of around $91,500 before recovering. Meanwhile, Solana's price fell 24%, and memecoins, including Trump's own official token, dropped 40% on average, according to the GMCI Meme Index.

Ether is currently trading for $2,819, having rebounded by more than 30% since Monday's low alongside the rest of the market. The recovery followed reports that new US tariffs on Mexico and Canada will be paused for a month after an agreement between the respective governments. However, US tariffs on China are still set to go into effect, with China's finance ministry retaliating by stating that it will impose an additional 15% tariff on coal and liquified natural gas and an additional 10% on crude oil, agricultural machinery, and certain vehicles from February 10, causing the crypto market to slip