Bitcoin Caps Rollercoaster Week Where It Began

The price of Bitcoin rose toward $84,000 on Friday, recovering virtually all losses seen over the past week amid U.S. President Donald Trump’s partial about-face on tariffs.

The leading cryptocurrency was recently changing hands around $83,800, a 5.1% jump over the past 24 hours, according to crypto data provider CoinGecko. Solana and Ethereum meanwhile climbed 8.3% to $120 and 3% to $1,550, respectively.

On Monday, Bitcoin fell as low as $74,700, underscoring investors’ renewed concerns about the president’s month-long trade war, but grew relieved after Trump unveiled a 90-day pause on most tariffs two days later.

“I think we’re going to remember this week for a long time,” Samir Kerbage, CIO at crypto asset manager Hashdex, told Decrypt, comparing this week’s uncertainty to the coronavirus pandemic. “Bitcoin has been behaving better than most risk assets in recent days.”

On Wall Street, stock indices weathered some of their strongest swings in modern history, as Trump put most “reciprocal” tariffs on ice—but escalated his trade war with China—which now faces a total rate of 145% on goods exported to the U.S.

The S&P 500 ended the week up 5.6%, building on Wednesday’s recovery, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq surged 7.3%, and the Dow climbed 5%, according to Yahoo Finance.

Although Trump’s pause reduced some uncertainty, investors weighed fresh signs of how the president’s on-again, off-again approach to sweeping levies has affected consumers.

On Friday, the University of Michigan said its widely watched sentiment index fell 11% in April to 50.8, representing its lowest level since Americans wrestled with the coronavirus pandemic.

Joanne Hsu, the university’s director of the surveys of consumers, stated that Trump’s trade war has affected consumers’ expectations of everything from personal finances to inflation.

Earlier this week, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said inflation had climbed to 2.4% in March from a year earlier, coming in far below economists’ expectations. However, economists fear that Trump’s tariffs may reignite price pressures in the coming months. The University of Michigan survey showed inflation expectations reaching their highest level since 1981.

Amid a risk-off sentiment, investors have flocked to gold. On Friday, the precious metal set a fresh record, hitting $3,263 per ounce, according to Yahoo Finance.

“Bitcoin has characteristics of a good store of value, but it’s still too recent in our society,” Kerbage said. “It will be there in five to ten years, and this trade war could be something that would accelerate that dynamic.”

Edited by James Rubin

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