David Edwards
According to a recent report by the New York Digital Investment Group (NYDIG), the cryptocurrency industry has remained remarkably resilient despite abrupt upheavals across traditional financial markets brought on by U.S. President Donald Trump’s shifting global tariff policies.
“Despite the carnage in traditional financial markets, the crypto markets have been relatively orderly,” said Greg Cipolaro, NYDIG’s Global Head of Research, in an April 11 note. He underlined that while broad-based risk-off sentiment has traditionally permeated cryptocurrency markets, such stress signals have not yet appeared in the current climate.
The tenacity is demonstrated during a tumultuous tariff rollout. Trump’s extensive trade policies, which were announced on April 2 and imposed global duties, were abruptly halted on April 9 just hours after they went into force. With the exception of China, which is still subject to tariffs of up to 145%, a new baseline tariff of 10% was implemented for the majority of nations.
Global currency, bond, and equities markets became more volatile after the April 2 announcement, which caused traditional and digital assets to decline. Although Bitcoin did not completely avoid the volatility, Cipolaro pointed out that its decrease has been somewhat subdued. Although it has been stable in recent sessions, Bitcoin is currently trading around $84,730, down about 22.5% from its January peak above $108,000.
Cipolaro pointed out that overall liquidations were much lower than previous stress episodes, even if they spiked to $480 million on April 6 and 7. Crypto perpetual futures have also maintained positive funding rates. As a further indication of underlying market order, he also noted that Tether (USDT), a popular dollar-pegged stablecoin, has remained near its $1 objective.
Investors seem to be seeing Bitcoin more and more as a store of value unrelated to sovereign risk in the face of persistent tariff uncertainty. According to Cipolaro, Bitcoin’s attractiveness to risk parity funds—portfolios that modify allocations based on volatility rather than fixed ratios—is growing as the volatility gap between it and conventional assets closes.
“This reallocation to Bitcoin could be supporting its relative buoyancy, creating a virtuous cycle of adoption and decreasing volatility,” he said.
However, some analysts are still wary. A technical “death cross” pattern may be developing on both Bitcoin and the S&P 500, according to Ruslan Lienkha, Chief of Markets at YouHodler. This negative indicator suggests possible medium-term weakness in the absence of a significant macroeconomic stimulus.
The relative stability of cryptocurrencies may strengthen their position as a hedge in diverse portfolios, particularly for institutional investors attempting to manage risk-adjusted returns, as long as policymakers continue to infuse uncertainty into international markets.
