Bitcoin (BTC) remains flat, trading just above $84K, as East Asian markets open for the week, with major stock indices in China showing gains. The market is navigating mixed messages from the White House regarding tariffs on semiconductors and technology components.
Over the weekend, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick confirmed that the White House’s decision to temporarily exempt items like smartphones, computers, and their key semiconductor components from tariffs was a short-term measure. Later, President Trump echoed these remarks, adding that a final tariff rate would be announced next week, with “flexibility” on the matter.
“The market saw a significant rebound when popular consumer electronics were excluded from the 125% tariffs on China,” BTSE COO Jeff Mei told CoinDesk via Telegram. “Even after Trump indicated that these items would be placed under a different set of tariffs rather than being fully exempt, markets held onto their gains amid rumors that business leaders had persuaded the Trump administration to ease some of the highest tariffs.”
Mei also noted, “We anticipate challenges in shifting global supply chains away from China overnight, and low-margin manufacturing will likely relocate to other Asian countries after trade deals are brokered. That said, we believe this rally is temporary, and market volatility will persist in the short term.”
Meanwhile, China has imposed its own tariffs on U.S.-origin semiconductors, imposing a 34% duty. However, because China considers Taiwan part of its territory and the majority of U.S. chip companies, like AMD and Nvidia, use Taiwan’s TSMC for manufacturing, these companies are effectively exempt from the tariffs.
Chinese analysts acknowledge potential short-term disruptions but view the tariffs as an opportunity to advance domestic innovation, localization, and supply-chain restructuring, ultimately benefiting China’s semiconductor industry in the long term.
Reports from Taiwan suggest that TSMC is accelerating the construction of a new fabrication facility in Arizona to ensure a stable supply of U.S.-made chips, as the sector faces continued uncertainty.
In the equity markets, traders in China are holding back until the final tariff details are revealed. Shanghai’s SSE Composite Index is up 0.8%, Shenzhen’s tech-heavy SZSE is up 0.9%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index has gained 2.4%.
Elsewhere in the crypto space, Hong Kong’s Bosera HashKey Ether Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) has received approval to offer staking services, following new guidance from the Securities and Futures Commission on staking offerings.
However, Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas pointed out on X that ether ETFs have struggled in the market, with short ether ETFs proving to be the best performers. Ether itself has fallen 47% over the past year, according to CoinDesk data, while the broader CoinDesk 20 index has risen 14%.
