Crypto Prices Surge as U.S. Treasury Chief Teases Trade Deals Ahead of Tariff Deadline

Bitcoin briefly soared past $109,000 on Sunday, while several other major cryptocurrencies, including XRP, Solana’s SOL, and dogecoin, posted solid gains amid growing optimism over potential trade deals from the United States.

The rally followed comments from U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who indicated that multiple trade agreements could be finalized before the looming July 9 “Liberation Day” tariff deadline.

Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, climbed more than 1% to momentarily breach the $109,000 mark. Meanwhile, payments-focused XRP and Solana’s SOL token each advanced over 2%, and meme favorite dogecoin (DOGE) rose by 3% to trade at $0.1697, according to data from CoinDesk. Ethereum’s ether, the second-largest crypto asset, also saw a boost, rising 1.5% to hit $2,550.

In an interview with CNN, Bessent said the U.S. is on the verge of closing several trade deals before the critical July 9 deadline. That’s the date when a temporary suspension of tariff hikes—first announced on April 2—is set to expire.

“President Trump’s going to be sending letters to some of our trading partners saying that if you don’t move things along, then on August 1, you will boomerang back to your April 2 tariff level,” Bessent explained, according to Reuters. “So I think we’re going to see a lot of deals very quickly.”

Bessent stressed that negotiations must conclude by July 9, or else higher tariffs introduced in early April will come into effect on August 1.

“We are saying this is when it’s happening. If you want to speed things up, have at it. If you want to go back to the old rate, that’s your choice,” Bessent told CNN, noting that some nations were “foot-dragging” on reaching agreements.

Since returning to office earlier this year, President Donald Trump has doubled down on efforts to strengthen the U.S. economy by imposing tariffs on imported goods. The administration sees tariffs as a tool to rebalance global trade relationships and reduce the American trade deficit.

On April 2, Trump unveiled sweeping tariffs starting with a 10% base tax on all U.S. trading partners, alongside steeper levies for specific countries, with some tariffs climbing as high as 50%. The announcement initially sparked panic in financial markets, sending U.S. stock indices tumbling and bitcoin plunging to around $75,000.

Fears of economic fallout prompted the administration to announce a 90-day pause on the new tariffs roughly a week later.

Since then, signs of so-called U.S. exceptionalism have reemerged across markets, propelling major U.S. stock indices to record highs. Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq have outperformed their global counterparts, while bitcoin has rebounded sharply, consistently trading above the $100,000 threshold.