Bitcoin Rises After Supreme Court Rules Against Trump Tariffs

In brief

• Bitcoin gained after the Supreme Court ruled against President Trump on tariffs.
• The digital asset initially fell alongside gold, but both asset prices then ticked up.
• Justice Brett Kavanaugh described tariff refunds as a potential “mess.”

The price of Bitcoin ticked up on Friday after the Supreme Court ruled that most of President Donald Trump’s tariffs were imposed in a way that exceeded his authority. The digital asset recently changed hands around $67,271, a 1% increase over the past day, according to CoinGecko. Bitcoin had fallen as low as $66,900 immediately after the decision’s release at 10 a.m. ET, then rose to nearly $67,800 before dipping again. The Supreme Court determined that Trump’s tariffs were not allowed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), a 1977 law that allows the president to regulate certain foreign economic transactions in the event of a national emergency. 

In his majority opinion for the 6-3 decision, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that the Trump administration’s understanding of the IEEPA would “represent a transformative expansion of the President’s authority over tariff policy” that has no precedent. Last year, Trump’s efforts to reshape global trade upended global markets, pushing Bitcoin as low as $76,300 in April from a post-election high of $106,000 months before. The president has since softened his stance on “reciprocal” tariffs, but he continues to threaten countries with levies to achieve his international goals. The decision won’t affect all of Trump’s tariffs, but his eagerness to impose levies has stoked geopolitical and economic uncertainties for much of his second term, whether that’s a strain on the U.S. existing trade alliances or the prospect of higher inflation. Those fears have benefited gold prices, which rose 1.8% to $5,090 per ounce on Friday, according to Yahoo Finance. It fell to $5,000 earlier in the day.

Trump called the Supreme Court’s decision a “disgrace,” per CNN, which cited two people familiar with the matter. The president indicated that he also has a backup plan. In his dissent, Justice Brett Kavanaugh underscored that the decision has no bearing on whether the White House will need to refund billions of dollars in collected tariff revenue. If lower courts determine that the move is proper, “that process is likely to be a ‘mess,’” he added.