Crypto Surpasses Nasdaq as BTC Emerges as 'U.S. Isolation Hedge' Amid $5T Stock Market Losses

Key Points:

• U.S. equities lost $5.4 trillion in value over two days following President Trump's announcement of reciprocal tariffs.

• Bitcoin and the broader crypto market experienced smaller declines, with BTC down 6%, compared to the Nasdaq's 11% drop.

• Standard Chartered views Bitcoin as a potential hedge against instability in traditional finance.

Following President Donald Trump's announcement of reciprocal tariffs, the U.S. equities market experienced a $5.4 trillion loss in just two days, with the S&P 500 reaching its lowest level in 11 months and the Nasdaq 100 entering bear market territory.

In contrast, cryptocurrencies have shown more resilience. Bitcoin (BTC) fell by around 6% since the tariff announcement, while the Nasdaq dropped 11%. The broader crypto market, measured by a prominent index, saw a decline of about 4.9% during the same period.

To put the sell-off into context, the total crypto market cap stands at around $2.65 trillion, according to data from TheTie. Over the last 24 hours, Bitcoin dropped 0.3%, settling at $82,619.77, while the broader market index rose by approximately 0.2%. By Friday’s market close, most crypto-related stocks saw declines, although a few actually posted gains.

Bitcoin miner MARA Holdings (MARA) rose by 0.6%, while Core Scientific (CORZ) gained 0.4%. MicroStrategy (MSTR), which holds 528,185 BTC, saw a 4% increase, greatly outperforming the Nasdaq, which dropped 5.8% on Friday.

Cryptocurrency prices are showing notable resilience. Thanks to their availability through traditional investment vehicles like ETFs and their strong performance, they may serve as a hedge against traditional finance, as noted by Standard Chartered’s Geoffrey Kendrick.

Kendrick mentioned in an email on April 4 that Bitcoin could also now be considered a hedge against “US isolation,” pointing out that, during the recent sell-off, Microsoft was the only one of the Magnificent 7 stocks to outperform Bitcoin.

The crypto market's strength coincided with the celebration of what is believed by some to be Bitcoin’s creator, Satoshi Nakamoto's birthday, based on his P2P Foundation profile. While the exact date is disputed, it marks the anniversary of Executive Order 6102, signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on April 5, 1933, which mandated that Americans turn in their gold to the Federal Reserve.