Trump’s tariffs will make Bitcoin a safe haven asset, Messari says

Donald Trump’s tariffs will push Bitcoin closer to achieving the safe haven asset status maxis like Strategy’s Michael Saylor have envisioned for years.

That’s according to Messari analyst Dylan Bane, who sees the US President’s trade taxes on some 100 countries working as a catalyst that could move the cryptocurrency away from simply following the ebbs and flows of stock markets.

“Tariffs represent a retreat from the global economic system that has existed since the end of the Cold War,” Bane said on Wednesday.

He said the tariffs could thus trigger “deeper and more lasting shifts in the global economic order” and establish Bitcoin as a form of digital gold to hedge against market turmoil.

Trump has upended global financial markets with an aggressive trade tax regime against some of the US’ closest allies.

The dollar is the cornerstone of that economic system, but market watchers say institutions and governments are increasingly losing confidence in the Greenback.

“The trade war is just the latest example of this administration’s contempt for the rest of the world,” Mark Sobel, US chair of OMFIF, a financial think-tank, and a former senior Treasury official, told the Financial Times. “Being a trusted partner and ally is a key pillar of the US dollar’s dominance, and has been tossed to the wind.”

That could be just the opportunity Bitcoin maximalists have been waiting on.

“Over time, we believe this could lead to Bitcoin decoupling from US equities,” Bane said. “It may increasingly be viewed not as a tech stock proxy or risk-on trade, but as a credible inflation hedge and long-term store of value.”

The DXY Index, which measures the dollar’s strength against other currencies, has steadily declined since a January high of around 110 to a current 99.37.

To be sure, Bitcoin hasn’t achieved safe haven asset status yet. Gold remains king in that regard, and reached an all-time high of $3,375 an ounce this week amid the ongoing trade chaos

Crypto market movers

• Bitcoin is down 0.6% over the past 24 hours to trade at $84,136.
• Ethereum is down 1.1% over the same period to $1,571.

What we’re reading

• Is the world losing faith in the almighty US dollar? — Financial Times
• An XRP ETF in 2025? ‘Don’t see this SEC not approving’ the new fund, analyst says — DL News
• AWS halts Binance withdrawals — Milk Road
• Should Victims of Crypto Fraud Get Repaid at Current Prices? DOJ to Investigate — Unchained
• Bitcoin miners’ profit rate sinks 28% as concerns mount over price stability — DL News

Andrew Flanagan is a markets correspondent for DL News. Have a tip? Reach out to aflanagan@dlnews.com.