Since US President Donald Trump was inaugurated on January 20, 2025, Bitcoin and stock markets have suffered tremendous losses. Even with initial optimism regarding Trump’s crypto-friendly and business-friendly policies, the financial markets have not performed as expected during the first two months of his administration.

All of the key US stock indexes have registered losses in 2025, with the Nasdaq declining more than 1% since Trump took office, CNN reports. Weakening consumer confidence and investor worries about inflation have driven the decline.

Inflation Woes and Consumer Confidence Slump

One of the key drivers of the downward trend in the stock market is inflation concerns. The Conference Board consumer confidence index fell by its largest amount in February since August 2021. The decreased value has increased inflation fears even further, further affecting investor morale.

Further, a worrying consumer confidence survey has taken the Fear & Greed Index to the extreme fear region for the first time since December 2024. This trend towards caution has had an impact on investment strategy, with most investors looking towards safer assets such as government bonds.

Bitcoin Takes a Hit Amid Market Volatility

Bitcoin, which enjoyed a boom as Trump took the oath of office, has struggled sharply. After hitting a peak of $106,000, the cryptocurrency plunged by about 16% in the last month to trade near $88,000. The decline is due to increasing volatility in the crypto space as investors struggle with economic uncertainty.

Adding further to market anxieties, retail behemoth Walmart just issued a warning of diminished sales growth in 2025. The warning has ramped up fears of an economic slowdown, placing added pressure on a soft market environment.

Global Markets Remain Resilient

While US markets languish, global markets have demonstrated strength. Europe’s STOXX 600 Index has climbed almost 10% in 2025, with Chinese stocks having eclipsed those of the US.

CNN reports that analysts at Goldman Sachs said China’s tech industry has grown, especially since the introduction of DeepSeek’s LLM. European technology companies have, on the other hand, benefited from the constant happenings in Ukraine, hence performing well in the market.

Tech Stocks Face Pressure

Technology shares, which powered market increases in the past few years, have been weakening. Big players such as Nvidia, Palantir, and Tesla have not escaped the recent sell-offs. Tesla’s market cap fell below $1 trillion after losing 8.4%, one of the worst-hit stocks.

While markets continue to respond to economic uncertainty, investors continue to be hesitant about the economy under Trump’s presidency.