Since Trump took office, stocks are down and bitcoin has plunged. What’s going on?

Investors entered the New Year cheerful about the prospects of a business- and crypto-friendly Trump administration. Yet two months into 2025, US stocks have lagged Europe and Chinese stocks, bitcoin is sliding and concerns about inflation are mounting.

Investors entered the New Year cheerful about the prospects of a business- and crypto-friendly Trump administration. Yet two months into 2025, US stocks have lagged Europe and Chinese stocks, bitcoin is sliding and concerns about inflation are mounting. US stocks slid Tuesday as investors digested a poor outlook from a consumer confidence survey that showed heightened concern about inflation. The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index saw its largest monthly decline since August 2021. The Dow wavered Tuesday morning, sliding 0.2% after opening higher. The benchmark S&P 500 was down by around 0.75% by midday and the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.5%. US markets are fretting as signs of lingering inflation are on the rise and uncertainty around President Donald Trump’s trade and tariff policy persists. Investor sentiment on Tuesday moved into extreme fear territory for the first time since December, according to CNN’s Fear & Greed Index. The VIX, Wall Street’s fear gauge, surged 10% on Tuesday to its highest level this year. The S&P 500 has closed lower three sessions in a row, and all three major US stock indexes are in the red since Trump took office on January 20. The tech-heavy Nasdaq is down almost 2% since the start of 2025. As investors brace for uncertainty, they are likely moving away from stocks into safer assets like government bonds and dumping risky assets like cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin, which surged as high as $106,000 around Trump’s inauguration, is down about 17% in the past month, trading around $87,000 on Tuesday.