Trump tariffs reignite idea that Bitcoin could outlast US dollar

The lingering fears triggered by US President Donald Trump’s sweeping global tariffs have analysts increasingly convinced that Bitcoin is now more likely than ever to challenge the US dollar in the years ahead.

“Higher chance Bitcoin survives over the dollar in our lifetime after today,” Bitwise Invest head of alpha strategies Jeff Parks said in an April 9 X post.

Investors will be left with no other option but Bitcoin, says crypto exec

“First time the thought hit me and didn’t feel like theory but an actual truth to grapple with,” Parks added. 

Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley shared a similar view, noting that with trust in the US dollar waning and other foreign currencies seen as “even weaker,” investors are left with fewer choices. 

He argued that gold, typically seen as a safe harbor amid uncertainty, also has drawbacks around shipping and storage and implied that Bitcoin may be the only option left. “You wind up buying Bitcoin,” Horsley said.

The US Dollar Index — which tracks its strength against a basket of major currencies —  is trading at 102.193, down 5.84% since Jan. 1, according to TradingView. However, Wall Street analysts were mistaken in thinking that the tariffs would bolster the US dollar, according to a recent Wall Street Journal report.

On April 2, Trump signed an executive order establishing a 10% baseline tariff on all imports from all countries, which took effect on April 5. Harsher reciprocal tariffs on trading partners with which the US has the largest trade deficits then kicked in on April 9.

Uncertainty around the tariffs and fears of a broader recession have been major catalysts for a wide traditional and crypto market decline.

Bitcoin (BTC) is trading at $76,301, down 18.37% since Jan. 1, according to CoinMarketCap data.

Bitcoin author Saifedean Ammous said in an April 8 X post that America’s issue isn’t with one specific country’s deficit but with aggregate deficits worldwide due to having a “fiat money printer.”

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“An ever-increasing number of Americans can live off the money printer as long as the rest of the world is using the dollar,” Ammous said.

He argued that the real solution is to stop printing “fake money” and move to a hard store of value, naming Bitcoin or gold as examples.

“Another way to solve this problem would be for the world to move to a hard money standard and stop using America’s shitcoin, and give Trump the trade surpluses he thinks he wants.”

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This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.