Corporate Bitcoin (BTC) treasuries collectively shed more than $4 billion in value after US President Donald Trump’s tariffs triggered a global market sell-off, data shows. 

As of April 7, corporate Bitcoin holdings are worth approximately $54.5 billion in the aggregate, down from roughly $59 billion before April 2, according to data from BitcoinTreasuries.net.

The cryptocurrency’s volatility has also weighed on publicly traded Bitcoin holders’ share prices.

The Bitwise Bitcoin Standard Corporations ETF (OWNB) — an exchange-traded fund (ETF) tracking a diverse basket of corporate Bitcoin holders — has lost more than 13% since Trump announced sweeping US import tariffs on April 2, according to Yahoo Finance.

Even shares of Strategy — the de facto Bitcoin hedge fund founded by Michael Saylor that pioneered corporate Bitcoin buying — are down, clocking losses of more than 13% since April 2, Google Finance data showed. 

The losses highlight ongoing concerns about Bitcoin’s increasing popularity as a corporate treasury asset. Historically, corporate treasuries hold extremely low-risk assets like US Treasury Bills.

“Cryptocurrencies’ high volatility and uncertain regulatory landscape are misaligned with the fundamental goals of treasury management [such as] stability, liquidity, and capital preservation,” David Krause, a finance professor at Marquette University, said in a January research publication. 

Entities holding Bitcoin. Source: BitcoinTreasuries.NET

Related: Bitcoin, showing ‘signs of resilience’, beats stocks, gold as equities fold — Binance

Is Bitcoin right for corporate treasuries?

In 2024, surging Bitcoin prices pushed Strategy’s shares up more than 350%, according to data from FinanceCharts. 

Strategy’s success has inspired dozens of copycats, but investors are becoming skeptical.

In March, GameStop lost nearly $3 billion in market capitalization as shareholders second-guessed the videogame retailer’s plans to stockpile Bitcoin. 

“There are question marks with GameStop’s model. If bitcoin is going to be the pivot, where does that leave everything else?” Bret Kenwell, US investment analyst at eToro, told Reuters on March 27. 

The case for Bitcoin as a corporate treasury asset. Source: Fidelity Digital Assets

Still, adding Bitcoin to corporate treasuries can “potentially be a valuable hedge against growing fiscal deficits, currency debasement, and geopolitical risks,” asset manager Fidelity Digital Assets said in a 2024 report.

That thesis may already be playing out as Trump’s tariffs rattle markets, Binance said in an April 7 research report.  

“[I]n the wake of recent tariff announcements, BTC has shown some signs of resilience, holding steady or rebounding on days when traditional risk assets faltered,” Binance said.

Investors “will be watching closely to see if BTC is able to retain its appeal as a non-sovereign, permissionless asset in a protectionist global economy,” according to the report.

Magazine: Bitcoin heading to $70K soon? Crypto baller funds SpaceX flight: Hodler’s Digest, March 30 – April 5

Crypto’s worst quarter since the FTX crisis has many investors worried about the end of the bull market, but according to an industry panel, Bitcoin and altcoins’ parabolic moves haven’t even begun yet. 

In a panel discussion at the LONGITUDE by Cointelegraph event in Paris, France, MN Capital founder Michael van de Poppe said he thinks the bull market is “actually getting started from this point.” 

While it’s hard to believe that following Bitcoin’s (BTC) recent plunge below $80,000 on global tariff woes, “we know from history” that chaotic sell-offs create favorable conditions for a reversal, he said.

Van de Poppe drew parallels between the current market dump and the COVID-19 crash in 2020, when Bitcoin plunged by nearly 40% in a single day.

“That was the actual bottom, and since then, Bitcoin went 20x,” said van de Poppe. 

Cointelegraph Managing Editor Gareth Jenkinson, left, moderates a panel with three crypto experts in Paris, France, on April 7. Source: Cointelegraph

Messari CEO Eric Turner agreed, saying, “We never had a bull market,” but rather “two sides of the market.” 

“We had Bitcoin where all the flows went into [exchange-traded funds]” and “then you have pockets of things,” such as the memecoin frenzy and other short-term trends, he said.

“I actually think the real question is, when does the bull market come? If you ask me, that’s going to be Q3, Q4 of this year,” said Turner.

Beyond short-term price action, it helps to look at the big picture, especially in the United States, said John Patrick Mullin, the co-founder and CEO of Mantra. Mullin said he’s “excited” about all of the favorable policy tailwinds coming from the United States, including the Executive Branch.

Related: VC Roundup: 8-figure funding deals suggest crypto bull market far from over

Favorable policy, bad macro environment

US President Donald Trump is overseeing an overhaul of crypto regulations in Washington, with lawmakers moving closer to passing landmark stablecoin and market structure bills. 

Trump has also appointed pro-crypto leaders to various positions, chief among them being Paul Atkins, who recently moved one step closer to securing the nomination as chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

However, these positive developments have failed to kickstart the bull market or bring meaningful capital flows into the industry, largely because Trump’s other agenda items — namely, tackling perceived trade imbalances — have triggered growth fears. 

Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs on April 2 were perceived by many investors as an egregious attempt to rewrite the terms of global trade, as they went beyond the 10% universal tariff proposed initially. 

Source: Andrea Junker

The tariff announcement triggered the largest exodus from US stocks since the COVID-19 pandemic. 

However, if past crises like COVID-19 are anything to go by, the US Federal Reserve will likely step in at some point to backstop the market should things get progressively worse.

“[…] If you go back in time with another crisis and at some point the Fed steps in to lower the rates and to print money to stimulate the internal economy,” van de Poppe said during the panel discussion.

“So, it’s going to happen. The question is when,” said van de Poppe.

Magazine: Bitcoin heading to $70K soon? Crypto baller funds SpaceX flight: Hodler’s Digest, March 30 – April 5

Bitcoin (BTC) is showing “signs of resilience” even as stocks and the broader cryptocurrency market plunge amid a global market sell-off after US President Donald Trump imposed sweeping tariffs on US imports last week, Binance Research said. 

As of mid-day trading on April 7, Bitcoin is up almost 1% to nearly $79,000. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 — an index of large US stocks — is essentially flat and front-month gold futures are down around 1.5%, according to Google Finance.

“Even in the wake of recent tariff announcements, BTC has shown some signs of resilience, holding steady or rebounding on days when traditional risk assets faltered,” Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, said in an April 7 research report.  

Notably, Bitcoin’s supply of long-term holders continues to rise, “reflecting conviction and limited capitulation during recent volatility,” Binance said.

On April 2, Trump said he was putting tariffs of at least 10% on most imports into the United States and adding additional “reciprocal” tariffs on goods from 57 countries. 

Since then, major US stock indexes — including the S&P 500 and Nasdaq — dropped by more than 10% as traders braced for a looming trade war.

Bitcoin is still down more than stocks — about 12% — but has held up better than crypto’s overall market capitalization, which is down roughly 25% since April 2.

“Now, with reciprocal tariffs emerging and global markets adjusting to the prospect of prolonged trade fragmentation, much could hinge on BTC’s ability to reassert its safe haven narrative,” the report said. 

Source: Binance Research

Related: Crypto stocks down, IPOs punted amid tariff tumult

Changing asset correlations

Bitcoin’s correlation with gold — historically considered the ultimate safe haven asset during times of extreme macroeconomic uncertainty — has been low, averaging around 0.12 over the past 90 days, Binance said. 

The cryptocurrency has a closer correlation with equities of 0.32. However, “despite short-term swings, BTC may still have room to reassert a more independent macro identity,” according to the exchange. 

“The key question is whether BTC can return to its long-term pattern of low correlation with equities,” noted the report. 

Source: Binance Research

For now, gold appears to be the preferred safe haven asset among fund managers, Binance said. 

It cited a survey in which 58% of respondents said they would prefer to hold gold during a trade war versus only 3% for Bitcoin. 

“Market participants will be watching closely to see if BTC is able to retain its appeal as a non-sovereign, permissionless asset in a protectionist global economy,” Binance said.

Magazine: New ‘MemeStrategy’ Bitcoin firm by 9GAG, jailed CEO’s $3.5M bonus: Asia Express

The US Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued two directives specifying policies and deadlines for deploying AI tools that enhance public services, providing a roadmap for implementing US President Donald Trump’s executive order to advance US “dominance” in the use and development of artificial intelligence.

According to two memorandums from April 3, all government agencies “should invest in the AI marketplace and maximize the use of AI products and services that are developed and produced in the United States.” The memorandums list various deadlines for the adoption of AI, including a 270-day deadline to update policies and procedures.

In early 2025, Trump took significant steps to reshape US policy on emerging technologies by repealing former President Joe Biden’s 2023 executive order on AI safety — arguing it imposed excessive regulations that stifled innovation — and declaring his intention to make the US the “world capital” of AI and cryptocurrency. Critics, however, have raised concerns that removing safety frameworks could leave the public vulnerable to AI-related risks.

OMB memorandum M-25-21. Source: White House

Some common AI models developed and produced in the United States include OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini, Meta’s Llama, and Elon Musk’s Grok. The directive from the OMB follows Trump’s promises to boost American dominance in this new sector of technology.

Related: Did ChatGPT come up with Trump’s tariff rate formula?

In January 2025, Trump announced an AI infrastructure project called “Stargate,” aimed at building AI data centers across the country.

The surging demand for AI infrastructure has prompted Bitcoin miners to pivot and expand their operations to support the growing needs of the AI sector.

At the same time, the convergence of AI and blockchain fueled a rally in AI-related tokens throughout 2024. However, that momentum has sharply reversed in 2025. Despite continued enthusiasm around AI’s long-term potential, tokens linked to the technology have seen steep losses, shedding over 42% of their market cap over the past 12 months, according to data from CoinMarketCap.

Performance of top AI and big data tokens. Source: CoinMarketCap

Market focus has shifted toward memecoins, while broader macroeconomic uncertainty has stoked fear across capital markets.

For the Trump administration, winning the AI race continues to be a priority. In April 2025, David Sacks, the White House’s AI and crypto czar, said that the release of Meta’s Llama 4 puts the US back in position to win the AI race. That race had been upended in January 2025 with the release of DeepSeek, an AI tool produced in China.

Magazine: AI Eye: Vitalik on AI apocalypse, LA Times both-sides KKK, LLM grooming

Ether (ETH) price dropped to $1,410 on April 7, marking its lowest level since March 2023. This sharp decline triggered liquidations of leveraged ETH futures worth over $370 million in 2 days, according to CoinGlass data. However, the altcoin managed to recover above the $1,500 mark as the S&P 500 index reclaimed its psychological 5,000 support level.

Ether/USD (blue) vs. total crypto market capitalization (magenta). Source: TradingView / Cointelegraph

Over the past 30 days, Ether has underperformed the broader cryptocurrency market by 14%. Despite this, professional traders are not yet ready to turn bearish, as suggested by Ethereum’s derivatives data and onchain metrics. While this data does not guarantee that Ether’s price has reached its bottom, the reduced demand for bearish positions below $1,600 offers some reassurance for bullish investors.

Ether 2-month futures annualized premium. Source: laevitas.ch

On April 7, the Ether monthly futures premium rose to 4% after dipping to 3% earlier in the day. Although still below the neutral threshold of 5%, this marks an improvement from March 31, when the indicator hit a low of 2%. Currently, there is a noticeable lack of demand from long positions (buyers), but this is not unusual following a steep 30% drop in ETH’s price over the past month.

Ether is a victim of worsening macroeconomic conditions

Investors remain concerned that escalating global trade tensions could lead to an economic recession and reduce interest in risk-on assets. This scenario also weakens the potential positive impact of a possible interest rate cut during the US Federal Reserve’s (Fed) next meeting on May 6-7. Typically, such a move would benefit the cryptocurrency market by lowering returns on fixed-income investments.

Despite US President Donald Trump’s strong push for interest rate cuts, as expressed in his Truth Social post on April 7, Fed Chair Jerome Powell remains cautious about inflation trends. Powell reportedly stated on April 4: “It is too soon to say what will be the appropriate path for monetary policy,” according to Yahoo Finance.

Adding further pressure to Ether’s price was Ethereum developers’ decision to delay the Pectra upgrade, originally scheduled for April. Developers have now set May 7 as the target date for its mainnet launch but provided no specific reason for the delay. This comes even though the Hoodi testnet upgrade was successfully implemented on March 26.

Ether derivatives display moderate resilience while Ethereum TVL jumps to an all-time high

Given the negative news flow, one might have expected Ether bears to dominate the market entirely. However, derivatives data suggests that bears are not as confident as anticipated. When traders foresee a correction, put (sell) options tend to trade at a premium, pushing the 25% delta skew metric above 6%. Conversely, during bullish periods, this indicator typically falls below -6%.

Ether 30-day options skew (put-call) at Deribit. Source: Laevitas.ch

Currently, the ETH options skew stands at 10%, the same level as March 31, which remains within bearish territory. However, this reading is significantly less extreme compared to May 2024, when it peaked at 20% amid a sharp ETH price drop from $3,700 to $2,860 within five weeks. In essence, while Ether derivatives markets signal bearish sentiment, they do not reflect panic levels.

Onchain data for Ethereum shows resilience despite broader market challenges. The total value locked (TVL) on the Ethereum network reached an all-time high of 30.2 million ETH on April 6—a 22% increase compared to the previous month. This growth outpaced Solana’s 12% increase in SOL (SOL) terms and BNB Chain’s 16% TVL rise during the same period. 

Ultimately, macroeconomic conditions remain the primary driver of cryptocurrency demand. However, when analyzing Ether derivatives data and Ethereum’s TVL performance, it appears that ETH’s price downside may be limited.

This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

Global financial markets continued to tumble on April 7, as US equities dropped more than 3%, wiping more than $2 trillion in value on market open. The pullback saw the S&P 500 drop 2.79%, with the index officially entering a bear market, following a 20% decline from its recent all-time highs.

However, the SPX momentarily rallied by 6% after a rumor began to spread on X that US President Donald Trump was contemplating a 90-day tariff pause. Bitcoin (BTC) price also rallied above $80,000, but after 30 minutes of positive price action, the White House confirmed that the rumor was not true.

Source: X

The S&P 500 is currently in positive territory for the day. Still, despite this uptick, the sustainability of the recovery remains uncertain as bearish undercurrents remain the same as before the tariff-pause rumor started to circulate.

In Asia trading sessions, where economies heavily depend on favorable global trade, stock markets plummeted. Hong Kong’s equity index suffered a staggering 13% drop, marking its worst performance since the Asian financial crisis. Major indexes in Shanghai, Taipei, and Tokyo also saw sharp declines, ranging from 7% to 10%.

In fact, the Nikkei 22 futures suspended trading after it hit circuit breakers during its session.

Tensions continued to escalate between the US and China after President Trump confirmed an additional 50% tariff on Chinese exports on April 9 if the country did not withdraw its initial 34% tariffs on the US by April 8.

Related: Bitcoin price retakes $80K as US stocks avoid ‘Black Monday’ meltdown

Bitcoin hits yearly lows, but BTC whales are accumulating

After initially demonstrating a decoupling from the US indexes on April 3 and April 4, Bitcoin price dipped 6.5% over the weekend and dropped to new yearly lows at $74,457 on April 7. This is Bitcoin’s lowest price since Nov. 7, with speculators expecting further drawdowns in the charts. Julio Moreno, head of research at CryptoQuant, said,

“Don’t catch the falling knife. Conditions have not improved for Bitcoin yet. Only one bull signal is on in the Bull Score Index.”

On a positive note, Glassnode data revealed that BTC whales (holding over 10,000 BTC) are intensifying accumulation while smaller holders continue to distribute. The Accumulation Trend Score for whales briefly hit a perfect 1.0 around April 1, reflecting a 15-day buying spree—the most significant since late August 2024.

Trend Accumulation Score by Bitcoin holders. Source: X.com

Since March 11, whales have added 129,000 BTC, scoring at 0.65, indicating steady accumulation. Meanwhile, cohorts holding less than 1 BTC to 100 BTC have shifted to distribution, with scores dropping to 0.1–0.2 for most of 2025.

This trend aligns with Bitcoin finding support at $74,000, a level backed by over 50,000 BTC held by investors dormant since March 10.

Meanwhile, Axel Adler Jr., a Bitcoin researcher, also pointed out that the supply dynamics metric indicates that the new Bitcoin supply is currently outpacing the annual change in active coins. A positive uptick indicates growing demand or accumulation in the market, and historically, such increases in this metric have coincided with Bitcoin price recoveries.

Bitcoin yearly supply change and new coins. Source: Axel Adler Jr.

Related: Was Bitcoin price drop to $75K the bottom? — Data suggests BTC to stocks decoupling will continue

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

Former Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao has been appointed as an adviser to Pakistan’s Crypto Council, a newly formed regulatory body tasked with overseeing the country’s embrace of blockchain technology and digital assets. 

The appointment was confirmed by Pakistan’s finance ministry and reported by Bloomberg on April 7. Zhao will advise the regulatory body on cryptocurrency regulation, infrastructure and adoption, Bloomberg reported.

CZ is seen signing documents during his appointment by Pakistan’s Ministry of Finance. Source: Business Recorder

Zhao is one of the most recognizable names in crypto, having served as CEO of Binance between 2017 and 2023. He resigned as CEO of the exchange in November 2023 after pleading guilty to charges related to violating US money laundering laws. He was later sentenced to four months in prison. 

For Pakistan, Zhao is a high-profile appointment that could potentially help the country lure foreign investment in an industry that has taken on new strategic importance.

In March, the CEO of Pakistan’s Crypto Council, Bilal bin Saqib, told Bloomberg that the country plans to develop a clear regulatory framework for digital assets.

“Pakistan is done sitting on the sidelines,” Saqib said. “We want to attract international investment because Pakistan is a low-cost high-growth market with […] a Web3 native workforce ready to build.”

Related: Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao to advise Kyrgyzstan on blockchain tech

Crypto in Pakistan: Adoption and pain-points

Pakistan has long been considered a potential hub for crypto adoption due to its growing population, large diaspora and thriving black market for foreign exchange trades. 

The value of cash sent to Pakistan through formal remittance channels surged at the end of last year amid a countrywide crackdown on black market dollar trades.

“This increase might be because remittances that had previously been sent using the black market are now being sent via official channels,” John Ashbourne, an economist at Fitch Solutions, told Bloomberg. 

Pakistan ranked highly in Chainalysis’ 2024 crypto adoption index, largely due to strong retail adoption and transactions at centralized services.

In 2024, Pakistan ranked ninth among Central and Southern Asia and Oceania (CSAO) countries. Source: Chainalysis

Stablecoins have emerged as one of crypto’s most prominent use cases in regions with high demand for US dollars due to currency depreciation.

Although data on stablecoin usage in Pakistan is slim, a 2023 KuCoin survey revealed that 33% of local crypto investors use digital assets to hedge against the rupee’s devaluation. 

A more recent survey conducted by Bitget found that 46% of respondents in South Asia — a region that includes India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and others — use digital assets for speed and accessibility of transactions. 

Magazine: How crypto laws are changing across the world in 2025

Metaplanet, a Japanese hotel manager turned Bitcoin treasury company, has fully repaid 2 billion yen ($13.5 million) worth of bonds ahead of schedule as it seeks to shore up its financial position.

Metaplanet conducted an early redemption of its 9th Series of Ordinary Bonds on April 4, more than five months before the maturity date, the company disclosed on April 7. 

The zero-interest bonds were issued in March through Metaplanet’s Evo Fund and used to acquire additional Bitcoin (BTC). Since the bonds carry zero interest, the repayment would not have a material impact on the company’s fiscal 2025 results, it said.

Source: Metaplanet

Metaplanet, which trades publicly on the Tokyo stock exchange, has made Bitcoin the center of its corporate strategy through a series of acquisitions. The company’s Bitcoin balance has swelled to 4,206 BTC, placing it among the top 10 publicly traded holders. 

The acquisitions are part of a broader strategy disclosed in January that could see Metaplanet purchase up to 21,000 BTC by the end of 2026. At the time, the company said it planned to raise more than $700 million to help fund its Bitcoin buying spree.

Related: Metaplanet share price rises 4,800% as company stacks BTC

CEO comments on Bitcoin price action 

Metaplanet has seemingly embraced Bitcoin’s volatility, having adopted a buy-the-dip mentality to acquire more of the digital asset. 

Over the weekend, Metaplanet CEO Simon Gerovich called Bitcoin’s volatility “a natural part of an asset that is truly rare, diversified, and has long-term potential,” according to a translated version of his social media post. 

Source: Simon Gerovich

Bitcoin’s price is under renewed pressure as part of a global sell-off in risk assets stemming from US President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff announcement last week. The BTC price plunged below $80,000 on April 7, according to Cointelegraph Markets Pro.

Bitcoin’s performance mirrors broader declines in US stocks, with the benchmark S&P 500 Index losing $5 trillion over two trading sessions. 

Magazine: Bitcoin heading to $70K soon? Crypto baller funds SpaceX flight: Hodler’s Digest, March 30 – April 5

Bitcoin holders are facing renewed pressure following US President Donald Trump’s trade tariff announcement, which sent shockwaves through global financial markets, including cryptocurrencies.

Even with Bitcoin (BTC) hodlers under pressure, some community members, including BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes, are not missing a chance to buy BTC at a discount.

“Been nibbling on BTC all day, and shall continue,” Hayes wrote on X on April 7 as the Bitcoin price hovered around $75,000.

Source: Arthur Hayes

He also predicted that Bitcoin’s dominance in the broader crypto market could grow. He expects the current 60.5% share of the market to go toward 70%.

Traders are “powerless to second-guess Trump’s next move”

While Hayes is stacking sats during the tariff-fueled market bloodbath, his investment firm, Maelstrom, reportedly sold BTC in December 2024, when Bitcoin traded near its all-time high of about $100,000.

In a blog post titled “Trump Truth,” Hayes had predicted a massive crypto crash after Trump’s inauguration in January, forecasting a clash in market optimism over his crypto policies and the realities of policy implementation.

Related: Michael Saylor’s Strategy halts Bitcoin buys despite dip below $87K

“The gospel of Bitcoin evangelists to never sell and buy every dip is testing the nerves of hodlers,” Petr Kozyakov, co-founder and CEO at the payments infrastructure platform Mercuryo, told Cointelegraph.

Bitcoin price in the past year. Source: CoinGecko

“Amateur retail traders and the citadels of high finance appear equally powerless to second-guess Trump’s next move,” he said.

He added that many traders are waiting on the sidelines, weighing whether the market has been oversold. Despite short-term uncertainty, Kozyakov remains bullish on Bitcoin’s long-term outlook as “the new digital gold.”

“Traders are cautiously waiting on the sidelines for opportunities to re-enter the market and weighing if there may be evidence of overselling.”

Kozyakov is far from being alone in seeing a promising future for Bitcoin as “new digital gold.” ARK Invest founder Cathie Wood is also bullish on Bitcoin vs. gold, claiming in February that the “substitution” of gold for Bitcoin has already happened.

Bitcoin will fail without payment use case, says Jack Dorsey

Despite the bullish sentiment of Hayes and Wood, others in the crypto community have cautioned that Bitcoin needs more than just a store-of-value narrative to remain relevant.

Jack Dorsey, former CEO of Twitter and serial crypto entrepreneur, is skeptical about whether BTC can succeed as a pure store of value.

“If it [Bitcoin] just ends up being a store of value and nothing more, I don’t think it gains relevance at all,” Dorsey said on a “Presidio Bitcoin” podcast episode on April 2.

Jack Dorsey on a “Presidio Bitcoin” podcast episode on April 2. Source: YouTube

To stay relevant, Bitcoin has to maintain its payment use case, he said:

“Otherwise, it’s just something you kind of buy and forget and only use in emergency situations or when you want to get liquid again. So I think if it doesn’t transition to payments and find that everyday use case, it just gets increasingly irrelevant. And that’s a failure to me.”

Despite its volatility largely being seen as a major impediment to its payment use case, Bitcoin continued to be a major payment asset on platforms like BitPay in 2024. Some jurisdictions have used Bitcoin as a tool of payment in global trade as well.

Magazine: Bitcoin heading to $70K soon? Crypto baller funds SpaceX flight: Hodler’s Digest, March 30 – April 5

Bitcoin (BTC) fell below $75,000 on April 6, pressured by traditional markets as S&P 500 futures hit their lowest levels since January 2024. The initial panic also caused WTI oil futures to drop below $60 for the first time in four years. However, markets later recovered some losses, allowing Bitcoin to reclaim the $78,000 level.

Bitcoin’s high correlation with traditional markets tends to be short-lived

While some analysts argue that Bitcoin has entered a bear market following a 30% price correction from its cycle peak, historical data offers numerous examples of even stronger recoveries. Notably, Bitcoin’s high correlation with traditional markets tends to be short-lived. Several indicators suggest traders are simply waiting for better entry opportunities.

40-day correlation: S&P 500 futures vs. Bitcoin/USD. Source: TradingView / Cointelegraph

Bitcoin’s recent performance has been closely tied to the S&P 500, but this correlation fluctuates significantly over time. For example, the correlation turned negative in June 2024 as the two asset classes moved in opposite directions for nearly 50 days. Furthermore, while the correlation metric exceeded the 60% threshold for 272 days over two years — roughly 38% of the period — this figure is statistically inconclusive.

The recent Bitcoin price drop to $74,440 reflects heightened uncertainty in traditional markets. While periods of unusually high correlation between Bitcoin and traditional assets have occurred in the past, they rarely last long. Furthermore, most major tech stocks are currently trading down by 30% or more from their all-time highs.

Gold failed as a “store of value” between 2022 and 2024

Even with a $1.5 trillion market capitalization, Bitcoin remains one of the top 10 tradable assets globally. While gold is often regarded as the only reliable “store of value,” this perspective overlooks its volatility. For instance, gold dropped to $1,615 by September 2022 and took three years to recover its previous all-time high of $2,075.

Although gold boasts a $21 trillion market capitalization — 14 times higher than Bitcoin’s— the gap in spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) assets under management is much narrower: $330 billion for gold compared to $92 billion for Bitcoin. Additionally, Bitcoin-listed instruments like the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) debuted on exchanges in 2015, giving gold a 12-year advantage in market presence.

Bitcoin ETFs’ importance and resilience in BTC derivatives

From a derivatives standpoint, Bitcoin perpetual futures (inverse swaps) remain in excellent condition, with the funding rate hovering near zero. This indicates balanced leverage demand between longs (buyers) and shorts (sellers). This is a sharp contrast to the period between March 24 and March 26, when the funding rate turned negative, reaching 0.9% per month—reflecting stronger demand for bearish positions.

Bitcoin perpetual futures 8-hour funding rate. Source: Laevitas.ch

Additionally, the $412 million liquidation of leveraged long positions between April 6 and April 7 was relatively modest. For comparison, when Bitcoin’s price dropped by 12.6% between Feb. 25 and Feb. 26, liquidations of leveraged bullish positions totaled $948 million. This suggests that traders were better prepared this time or relied less on leverage.

Finally, stablecoin demand in China offers further insight into market sentiment. Typically, strong retail demand for cryptocurrencies drives stablecoins to trade at a premium of 2% or more above the official US dollar rate. Conversely, a premium below 0.5% often signals fear as traders look to exit crypto markets.

Related: Michael Saylor’s Strategy halts Bitcoin buys despite dip below $87K

USDT Tether (USDT/CNY) vs. US dollar/CNY. Source: OKX

The premium for USD Tether (USDT) remained at 1% on April 7, even as Bitcoin’s price dropped below $75,000. This suggests that investors are likely shifting their positions to stablecoins, potentially waiting for confirmation that the US stock market has reached its bottom before returning to cryptocurrency investments.

Historically, Bitcoin has shown a lack of correlation with the S&P 500. Additionally, the near-zero BTC futures funding rate, relatively modest futures liquidations totaling millions, and the 1% stablecoin premium in China point to a strong likelihood that Bitcoin’s price may have found a bottom at $75,000.

This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.