Bitcoin has surged 10% over the past seven days and stayed above Bitcoin has been gaining ground. On Wednesday, the original cryptocurrency reached $94,000, its highest level since Mar. 2, after falling as low as $75,000 earlier this month.
The rest of the crypto market has also rallied this week; Ethereum is up 11% in the last seven days, XRP up 7% and Solana up 13%. The traditional stock market is making gains as well after a historic meltdown earlier this month. The Nasdaq is up 5% in the last five days and the S&P 500 is up 4%.
“While the broader macro environment may be very volatile, especially for equities and fixed income, the digital asset class has been holding up remarkably well,” James Gernetzke, CFO of crypto wallet provider Exodus, told Fortune.
Trump announced sweeping tariffs earlier this month, sending crypto into a tailspin. And although he temporarily paused tariffs on all other countries just a few days later, he raised levies to as high as 145% on Chinese imports. This week, however, Trump adopted a softer tone on the country, saying Tuesday that he plans to be “very nice” in any trade talks with China. He added that he would “substantially” lower the tariffs if the two countries can strike a deal.
“This week’s announcements from the Trump administration on negotiations with China prospectively leading to a lowering of tariffs have reignited investor appetite, with Bitcoin emerging as the big winner,” Juan Leon, an investment strategist at crypto asset manager Bitwise, told Fortune.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also signaled that the president is “very close” to closing a deal with India, and White House officials have touted advancements in talks with other nations as well.
The relief rally also comes as Trump backs down from his threat to fire Fed chair Jerome Powell. The president has expressed frustration with the head of the central bank over his reluctance to lower interest rates as Trump’s tariffs wreak havoc on financial markets. On Friday, the White House said that Trump was looking into whether he had the power to fire Powell, leading to concerns over the bank’s independence. However, markets rebounded on Wednesday as Trump told reporters at the White House that he has “no intention” of firing him.
While Trump’s feud with the Fed was short-lived, some crypto enthusiasts say it highlighted Bitcoin’s strength as a decentralized asset not controlled by any one entity. As investors fled American assets, weakening the value of the U.S. dollar, Bitcoin’s price continued to rise.
“In this environment, investors are seeking alternative safe-haven assets,” James Butterfill, head of research at ETF issuer CoinShares, told Fortune.
