Bitcoin’s safe-haven appeal grows during trade war uncertainty

The global trade war may be a silver lining for Bitcoin’s growing recognition as a safe-haven asset next to gold, thanks to its liquidity and accessibility advantages compared to precious metals.

Financial markets have been rattled since US President Donald Trump’s April 2 reciprocal import tariffs announcement, leading to record-breaking sell-offs for traditional stock markets and a Bitcoin (BTC) correction below $75,000.

While gold remains the dominant refuge for investors during geopolitical stress, analysts say Bitcoin’s digital nature and 24/7 liquidity are helping it attract renewed interest.

“You want to store value in something other than U.S. assets. But you don’t want to own other nations’ currencies/debt/assets because they’re even weaker and you expect they’ll debase it,” said Hunter Horsley, CEO of crypto asset manager Bitwise, in an April 9 post on X.

“You look around, and you see it: an asset that can’t be debased, is controlled by no country, and that you can take into your possession immediately. You wind up buying Bitcoin,” Horsely said.

Despite the growing optimism, gold will likely remain the dominant asset, especially in the near term, Aurelie Barthere, principal research analyst at Nansen crypto intelligence platform told Cointelegraph, adding:

“Bitcoin is promising, but it’s still quite volatile, it could get there gradually. The PBOC has been shedding U.S. Treasury holdings and increasing gold reserves for years. Therefore, I expect this trend to accelerate regardless of the crypto narrative.”

China’s Finance Ministry on April 9 announced new tariffs of up to 84% on US imports, effective April 10, as a retaliatory measure against Trump’s policy. Analysts believe a resolution could reduce uncertainty and reignite appetite for risk assets like crypto.

China’s tariffs come as a retaliatory response to Trump’s tariff plan, which imposed a 34% tariff on Chinese imports, effective April 9.

Some industry analysts see Trump’s global tariff negotiations as mere “posturing” for the US to reach an agreement with China, a development that may end global trade uncertainty and see risk assets such as crypto recover.

China, Russia reportedly using Bitcoin for settlement

Some nations are already taking steps toward using crypto assets for settlement in global trade.

“China and Russia have reportedly begun settling some energy transactions in Bitcoin and other digital assets,” wrote Matthew Sigel, head of digital assets research at VanEck, in an April 8 note. “These are early signs that Bitcoin is evolving from a speculative asset into a functional monetary tool.”

Sigel noted other examples, including Bolivia’s plans to import electricity using crypto and French utility firm EDF’s exploration of using surplus power to mine Bitcoin.

“These developments reflect a growing interest in neutral settlement rails, especially among economies looking to bypass the U.S. dollar,” he said.

Previous reports also indicated that Russia is using Bitcoin and stablecoin for international oil trade to circumvent global sanctions.

Bitcoin’s evolving “volatility profile” also points to BTC “gradually maturing from a risky asset to a safe-have asset,” wrote André Dragosch, macro analyst and European head of research at Bitwise.

While the tariff uncertainty will continue limiting risk appetite during the negotiations, positive developments could bring renewed investment into crypto markets.

“We’ll start to see the rotation toward the crypto markets in the coming period where there’s more calm and peace in the markets where investors start to buy the dip and understand that some things have been undervalued,” Michaël van de Poppe, founder of MN Consultancy, told Cointelegraph.