Bitcoin and crypto prices have been rocked by U.S. president Donald Trump’s barrage of tariffs—with the Federal Reserve poised to blow up the bitcoin price.
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The bitcoin price dropped sharply after China sparked fears of a “crisis scenario” but has bounced back, breaking its correlation with the stock market.
Now, as the chief executive of BlackRock calls bitcoin potentially a “safer bet” than the U.S. dollar, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has declared bitcoin an emerging “store of value”—comparing it to gold.
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U.S. president Donald Trump and Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent attended a White House bitcoin … More
“Bitcoin is becoming a store of value, gold’s has historically been a store of value,” Bessent told podcaster Tucker Carlson, adding there are “a lot of different stores of value over time.”
Bessent’s comments come as stock markets around the world fall sharply in the aftermath of Trump’s so-called Liberation Day of trade tariffs that saw the U.S. implement a global baseline import tax of 10% and much higher rates for goods from dozens of countries.
“As risk assets continue to sell off, investors may increasingly rotate into traditional hedges like bonds and gold—or into bitcoin, which has shown notable resilience relative to equities in recent days,” David Hernandez, crypto investment specialist at bitcoin and crypto investment company 21Shares, said via email.
Gold, a traditional safe haven asset, is up around 15% so far this year as traders and central banks buy it to hedge against economic and geopolitical uncertainties.
“Bitcoin’s price action this week has been a true testament to its investment case as an emerging store of value and potential for uncorrelated returns,” Hernandez said.
The U.S. stock market has plummeted by around 10% since Trump followed through with his well-telegraphed global tariff regime that was more aggressive than traders had anticipated.
Trump himself shared a social media post with a caption reading: “Trump is purposely crashing the market.”
The bitcoin price has, however, climbed over the course of the week, breaking its recent correlation with the stock market—specifically the tech heavy Nasdaq and the so-called Magnificent 7 stocks that includes Apple, Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft, Netflix, Nvidia and Tesla.
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The bitcoin price has dropped in recent weeks but has outperformed the “crashing” stock market.
“What’s happening with the market I’d say it’s more a Mag 7 problem, not a MAGA problem,” Bessent told Carlson, referring to the Trump administration’s Make American Great Again series of policies that are focuses on rebuilding the country’s manufacturing base.
“The Trump tariffs have unleashed volatility, notably shaking the U.S. equity markets, but with this, bitcoin’s unique reaction deserves attention,” Joe Burnett, director of market research crypto financial company Unchained, said in emailed comments.
“Recalling March 2020, bitcoin rapidly bottomed and recovered first (before U.S. equities), a pattern potentially repeating today as bitcoin hasn’t made new lows since March 11th. This resilience could signal a strategic entry point for long-term investors. Of course, if stocks continue falling aggressively over the coming weeks, it’s reasonable to expect that bitcoin could experience another leg down too.”
