Bitcoin gains spotlight as Trump’s tariffs erode faith in US dollar
As sweeping new tariff policies from former President Donald Trump come into play, confidence in the US dollar is starting to wobble — and Bitcoin is quickly emerging as a potential alternative store of value. According to leading analysts, the odds of Bitcoin outlasting the US dollar have never seemed more realistic.
Jeff Park, head of Alpha Strategy at Bitwise Asset Management, expressed a bold view on April 9 via X: “As of today, I believe there’s a higher chance that Bitcoin will outlive the dollar in my lifetime.” He went on to explain that this wasn’t just a theoretical statement — it felt more like a concrete reality than ever before.
“Bitcoin is the last option left for investors”
Hunter Horsley, CEO of Bitwise, echoed that sentiment, noting that investor confidence in the dollar is fading — and foreign currencies are perceived as even riskier. “For investors, choices are becoming increasingly limited,” Horsley stated, suggesting that Bitcoin may soon be the only logical destination for capital seeking safety.
While gold has traditionally been seen as a hedge against fiat instability, issues like transport and storage make it less practical in a digital world. “Ultimately, people will have no choice but to turn to Bitcoin,” Horsley added.
TradingView data reveals that the US Dollar Index (DXY), which measures the greenback against a basket of major global currencies, has dropped 5.84% since the start of the year and is currently hovering near 102.193. According to the Wall Street Journal, many analysts on Wall Street incorrectly assumed Trump’s tariff plans would strengthen the dollar — when in fact, they’ve done the opposite.
Tariffs shake markets, send capital toward Bitcoin
On April 2, Trump signed an executive order imposing a flat 10% tariff on all imported goods, effective April 5. By April 9, he followed up with additional “reciprocal tariffs” targeting countries with large trade surpluses with the US.
These moves, along with rising fears of a global economic slowdown, have caused sharp volatility across both traditional and crypto markets.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $76,301 — a year-to-date loss of 18.37%, according to CoinMarketCap.
“The world needs to abandon fake money,” says economist
Prominent Bitcoin advocate and economist Saifedean Ammous shared his thoughts on X on April 8. He criticized the US approach to trade deficits, stating, “The issue is not bilateral deficits, it’s the global one. That’s only possible because the US owns a fiat printing press.”
He argued that as long as the world relies on the dollar, Americans will continue benefiting from money printing. His proposed solution? “Stop printing fake money and shift to hard assets.” He named Bitcoin and gold as examples of sound money.
In a more pointed statement, Ammous added that the only way to end the imbalance is for the world to move to a hard-money standard, “stop using America’s shitcoin,” and finally allow Trump to realize his dream of a trade surplus — delivered with a touch of sarcasm.