Trump vs Musk: How their online feud made cryptocurrencies go wild

Dubai: Just when crypto traders thought the week would pass quietly, all hell broke loose—on social media. In a dramatic digital duel, US President Donald Trump and Tesla boss Elon Musk traded blows online, and the crypto market felt every punch.

Bitcoin plunged nearly 4% last Thursday to touch $100,500, erasing billions in value in hours. It wasn’t alone—Dogecoin crashed 10%, Ethereum dropped over 7%, and the broader market saw a staggering $982 million in liquidations.

Trump slammed Musk’s government contracts, calling him “crazy,” and Musk fired back, threatening to decommission SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft—the only US-made option to send astronauts into space. The drama spilled from politics to the economy, and then straight into your crypto portfolio.

“Musk saying Trump’s tariff plan could trigger a recession sent jitters through the market,” said one analyst. And when the feud escalated, panic selling kicked in.

Simon Peters, crypto analyst at eToro, summed it up: “Bitcoin narrowly stayed above the $100,000 level as the online spat between Elon Musk and President Trump spilled over from traditional markets last week.”

That’s no exaggeration. At one point, BTC fell more than $5,000 in hours before bouncing back to $105,500 as reconciliation rumors between the two giants surfaced and US jobs data came in stronger than expected.

It was especially rough for Dogecoin. Once hailed by Musk as “the people’s crypto,” DOGE dropped 22% in a week as Musk was booted from Trump’s federal downsizing committee—ironically named DOGE. The coin, which has always fed on Musk’s hype, now looked lost without it.

It wasn’t just crypto taking a hit. Shares of Tesla fell 14%, Coinbase dropped nearly 5%, and even crypto miners like Riot and Marathon saw red. Circle’s IPO euphoria barely helped, reminding many of the Coinbase debut in 2021, which marked the last market top.

With US inflation data (CPI and PPI) due this week, don’t expect calm seas just yet. Traders are bracing for more volatility, especially with long-term holders cashing in profits and fresh uncertainty around crypto policy in a divided Washington.

When two of the world’s most influential figures turn their feud public, the market doesn’t just watch—it reacts. In this new world where tweets and memes can shake trillion-dollar markets, crypto investors would do well to keep one eye on the charts—and the other on X (formerly Twitter).