On February 23, 2026, U.S. Customs and Border Protection issued a brief notice: It would cease collecting all tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act at 12:01 AM Eastern Time on Tuesday. This news brought a sigh of relief to many in the crypto community. The Supreme Court had finally intervened, halting Trump's "illegal tariffs"—should the market rebound? But in reality, Bitcoin continued to fall. As of 11:00 AM Beijing time today, Bitcoin was trading at $64,800, down 4.8% in the past 24 hours, briefly approaching the $64,300 mark, its lowest level since February 6. Why didn't the coin rise despite the "good news"? The answer lies in another news item: Simultaneously with the Customs announcement of the halt to illegal tariffs, Trump's new 15% tariffs on global goods, authorized by another law, would take effect on the same day—at 00:01 on February 24.
Source: Pars Todays
Two news items, two directions
To understand what happened, we need to look at the news from the past three days together. On February 20th, the US Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that Trump's large-scale tariffs, invoking the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, lacked clear legal authorization and constituted overreach. On the same day the ruling was announced, Trump issued a new executive order, citing Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, imposing a 10% tariff on all global goods for 150 days. On February 21st, Trump raised the tariff rate from 10% to 15%. On February 23rd, Customs announced a halt to the collection of the "illegal tariffs" ruled by the Supreme Court, but confirmed that Trump's newly signed 15% tariff would take effect on the 24th. Therefore, the true meaning of today's news is: some tariffs have been ruled off by the court, but others are still in effect and will take effect tomorrow. This is not good news; it's the last few hours before bad news hits.
$175 billion in shady accounts
The customs authorities' suspension of tariffs isn't just a policy; it's also a huge sum of money. According to estimates by economists at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania's budget model, the total amount of tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) by Trump has exceeded $175 billion. As of the 21st, hundreds of companies, including major retailer Costco, have filed lawsuits demanding refunds for the tariffs they previously paid. Will this money be returned? Trump's own answer is: "We'll be spending the next five years in court." For the crypto market, this money won't flow back in the short term, nor will it become liquidity. The "positive news" the market was hoping for is merely the beginning of a lengthy legal process.
$60,000, all eyes are on this.
This morning, Bitcoin briefly dipped below the key support level of $65,000. BTC Markets analyst Rachael Lucas stated bluntly: if it clearly breaks below $65,000, $60,000 will come into focus; on the upside, bulls need the price to reach $70,000 to reverse the market narrative. Orbit Markets co-founder Caroline Mauron pointed out that the cryptocurrency market remains fragile, with participants pinning their hopes on the $60,000 support level. From geopolitical tensions with Iran to the fluctuating US tariff policies, macroeconomic uncertainty is putting pressure on the market. More alarming is the rise in CryptoQuant's "exchange whale ratio" to 0.64, a new high since 2015. This means that nearly two-thirds of the daily Bitcoin inflows into exchanges come from the top ten largest investors. The driving force behind this decline is not panicked retail investors, but rather large funds that acted in advance.
Three things you should know with less than 6 hours left.
Less than six hours remain until 00:01 on February 24th. First, the new tariffs are a certainty. The 15% global tariffs imposed by Trump under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 will take effect tomorrow morning for a period of 150 days. This isn't something that could happen; it's something that will happen. Second, refunds for the illegal tariffs will be lengthy. A $175 billion refund will require at least five years of legal battles. There will be no "windfall" in the market in the short term. Third, $60,000 is the last line of defense. Analysts generally believe that once it falls below $60,000, the next target could be $55,000. While traditional safe-haven assets like gold and silver are rising—gold futures rose nearly 2% to $5,180, and silver rose 5.7%—Bitcoin has not followed the "safe-haven" narrative this time; it is following the logic of "risk assets."
Conclusion
At 00:01 on February 24th, the new tariffs took effect. By then, the "good news" of the cessation of illegal tariffs had been realized, and the "bad news" of the new tariffs had also been realized. No one could say for sure how the market would react. But one thing was certain: in the past 72 hours, Trump had completed a "seamless switch" in tariff policy with two laws, two executive orders, and one tax increase. The court cut off his left leg, but he stood up on his right. For Bitcoin holders, the next few hours should be focused on $60,000. That's not just a candlestick chart; it's a threshold. On one side of the threshold is volatility, on the other side is the unknown.
