The cryptocurrency market took a significant hit on Thursday as tensions between U.S. President Donald Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk reached unprecedented levels. Bitcoin, which had been flirting with the $100,000 milestone, fell by 4% to trade below $101,000 as investors reacted to the high-profile fallout .
Market Impact
The ripple effects of the Trump-Musk dispute were felt across the entire crypto ecosystem:
• The CoinDesk 20 index, which tracks the top cryptocurrencies by market capitalization (excluding exchange coins, memecoins, and stablecoins), dropped by more than 5%
• Solana (SOL) and Sui (SUI) were particularly hard hit, with losses exceeding 7%
• Crypto-related stocks also suffered, with Coinbase (COIN) falling 4.6% and MicroStrategy (MSTR) declining 2.4%
• Mining companies including MARA Holdings, Riot Platforms, and Core Scientific experienced losses of around 5%
The Feud Explained
What began as a disagreement over economic policy quickly spiraled into a full-blown public confrontation between two of America’s most powerful figures:
1. Initial Tensions: The conflict originated from disagreements over Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill” tax cuts and spending package, which Musk feared would undermine his efforts to reduce federal spending through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)
2. Rapid Escalation: Despite a show of unity last Friday where Trump presented Musk with a golden key in the Oval Office, the relationship deteriorated rapidly
3. Public Accusations: The situation reached a boiling point on Thursday when:
▪ Trump claimed Musk had “gone crazy” and threatened to terminate government contracts with all Musk-led companies
▪ Musk alleged that Trump was implicated in the Jeffrey Epstein files and announced that SpaceX would decommission its Dragon aircraft
▪ Musk also appeared to support calls for Trump’s impeachment and replacement by Vice President J.D. Vance
Broader Market Consequences
The fallout wasn’t limited to cryptocurrencies. Tesla (TSLA) stock plummeted more than 14% on Thursday as investors processed the implications of Musk’s companies potentially losing valuable government contracts .
Trump expressed his disappointment publicly, stating: “I’m very disappointed in Elon; I’ve helped Elon a lot,” while revealing that he had asked Musk to leave his administration and had withdrawn the EV mandate that Musk had benefited from .
Musk, for his part, didn’t hold back, calling Trump’s bill a “disgusting abomination” and posting on X: “In the entire history of civilization, there has never been legislation that [was] both big and beautiful. Either you get a big and ugly bill or a slim and beautiful bill.”
