Bitcoin Rallies as Nasdaq Sinks, Becoming ‘U.S. Isolation Hedge’ in Historic $5T Equity Selloff

While U.S. equities suffered one of their worst two-day stretches in recent history, the crypto market held its ground — and in doing so, sent a powerful signal to global investors.

A brutal $5.4 trillion was wiped from the U.S. stock market after President Donald Trump unveiled a new round of retaliatory tariffs, dragging the S&P 500 to 11-month lows and pushing the Nasdaq 100 into a full-blown bear market. Tech giants tumbled, and panic rippled across trading floors.

But bitcoin (BTC), long criticized for its volatility, showed surprising stability. It dropped just 6% in the wake of the announcement, while the Nasdaq fell nearly twice as much. The broader CoinDesk 20 Index (CD20), which reflects the top digital assets, slid 4.9% during the same stretch.

As of Saturday, the total crypto market cap stands at roughly $2.65 trillion, per TheTie. In the last 24 hours alone, bitcoin slipped a modest 0.3% to $82,619.77, while the CD20 index edged up 0.2% — a signal of strength in a shaky global environment.

The trend extended into crypto-adjacent stocks. Bitcoin miner MARA Holdings (MARA) rose 0.6%, Core Scientific (CORZ) gained 0.4%, and MicroStrategy (MSTR) — the firm with over 528,000 BTC on its books — popped 4% on the day, defying the Nasdaq’s 5.8% nosedive.

Standard Chartered’s Geoffrey Kendrick suggested that BTC is evolving into more than just a financial hedge — it’s becoming a geopolitical one. “Bitcoin can now be viewed as a ‘U.S. isolation hedge,’” Kendrick wrote, citing recent price action that showed BTC outperforming nearly all of the so-called Magnificent 7 stocks, with the lone exception of Microsoft.

The moment also held symbolic weight: April 5 marks the supposed birthday of bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto, based on a now-famous profile on the P2P Foundation. The date coincides with Executive Order 6102, signed in 1933 by President Roosevelt, which forced Americans to surrender gold to the federal government — a decision still resonant in crypto circles.

As markets grapple with uncertainty and escalating global rifts, bitcoin’s narrative is shifting. No longer just an asset of speculation — it’s quickly becoming a barometer of confidence outside the traditional system.

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