What happened?
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is due to give a keynote on the U.S. economic outlook and monetary policy at the NABE meeting in Philadelphia. His remarks come after President Trump announced plans for a 100% tariff on Chinese imports, which helped trigger a massive crypto sell-off that wiped out over $19 billion in leveraged positions and sent Bitcoin and Ether sharply lower. Markets are volatile and traders are watching Powell closely because his tone could either calm markets or make the recent downturn worse.
Who does this affect?
This affects millions of crypto traders, especially those using leverage who faced huge liquidations during the sell-off. Broader investors and risk-on assets like equities are also exposed because crypto and stocks have been trading more in sync with overall risk sentiment. It also matters to exporters, importers and commodity markets as trade tensions, tariffs and central bank policy expectations ripple through global prices.
Why does this matter?
Powell’s words can shift expectations about the timing and size of Fed rate cuts, which directly influence risk asset prices and liquidity. If he sounds hawkish, it could deepen selling across crypto and equities and prolong the deleveraging that already forced millions out of positions; if he reassures markets, risk assets may stabilize and some of the pressure could ease. Either way, the combination of tariff shocks, heavy leverage and shifting rate expectations means higher volatility, potential contagion across asset classes, and likely changes to portfolio allocations and futures pricing.