Bitcoin price eyes prodded above $104,000 on Friday as Asia’s top ETF investor pours $691M into BlackRock’s BTC fund, reinforcing global institutional confidence. Could the rising spate of institutional inflows propel BTC above $120,000 in the weeks ahead. Bitcoin (BTC) Price Eyes $120K After Asia’s Largest ETF Investor Boosts BlackRock Exposure At press time, Bitcoin (BTC) traded at $104,007, holding above the psychologically critical $104,000 mark despite heightened volatility in the altcoin market this week. This resilience is being fueled by a surge of institutional interest, most notably from Asia’s largest ETF investor, who has now raised its investment in BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF to $691 million. Avenir Group Confirms Holdings in Blackrock’s Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) and Fidelity’s (FBTC), May 2025 On Thursday, Avenir Group, Asia’s largest institutional investor in Bitcoin ETFs, has significantly increased its holdings in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), according to a recent SEC filing. As of… Read More at Coingape.com
Welcome to the US Crypto News Morning Briefing—your essential rundown of the most important developments in crypto for the day ahead.
Grab a coffee as we dissect Bitcoin’s place in mainstream finance. The narrative of the pioneer crypto decoupling from traditional equity markets gains significant attention, but is it ready for the next step?
Crypto News of the Day: Bitcoin Still a Diversifier, Not a Reliable Hedge, RedStone Exec Says
BeInCrypto’s recent US Crypto News series in April explored whether the digital gold narrative was breaking down as Gold ascended to new highs while Bitcoin lagged.
The report came after extensive advocacy for Bitcoin as digital gold, with many presenting it as a safe-haven asset against negative market price movements.
“Primary use case for Bitcoin seems to be a store of value, aka ‘digital gold’ in a decentralized finance (DeFi) world,” the US Treasury stated recently.
However, recent findings beg the question: Is that time finally here? BeInCrypto contacted RedStone to ask: Is Bitcoin a hedge for traditional markets?
The response was insightful, with key takeaways from Marcin Kazmierczak, co-founder and COO of the leading cross-chain data oracle provider RedStone. According to Kazmierczak, data support Bitcoin’s role as a portfolio diversifier.
Kazmierczak cited analysis of Bitcoin and S&P 500 data from the past 12 months of open American market days. They analyzed on weekly and monthly timeframes.
Bitcoin correlation on a 7-day timeframe. Source: RedStone
For the 7-day correlation, which provides a more short-term outlook, they noted F periods when BTC exhibited a strong negative correlation with the American stock markets.
“These are the periods when many called for BTC’s decoupling from the broader markets,” he explained.
However, the 7-day aggregation is a short-term metric, making it susceptible to influence from market noise. The 30-day chart provides a clearer representation.
Bitcoin correlation with S&P on a 30-day timeframe. Source: RedStone
This timeframe reveals several shifts between modest positive, near-zero, and slightly negative correlations throughout the 12 months.
Bitcoin May Not Be Ready to Replace Traditional Hedges
He explained that Bitcoin exhibited variable correlation with the S&P 500 (SPX) over the past year.
This variance, he said, does not support positioning Bitcoin as a replacement for traditional hedges like gold or bonds.
“With correlations ranging from -0.2 to 0.4, Bitcoin demonstrates a variable relationship with equities rather than providing the consistent negative correlation truly needed for effective portfolio protection,” Kazmierczak told BeInCrypto in the interview.
He observed that institutional players still fundamentally classify Bitcoin as a risk-on asset. According to Kazmierczak, this range indicates that Bitcoin operates with periodic independence from traditional equity markets.
He believes the correlation is generally modest enough to provide portfolio diversification benefits. However, the variance nullifies Bitcoin from functioning as a reliable counter-movement hedge.
“This relationship puts Bitcoin in a diversifier category rather than a haven asset…Bitcoin can add diversity to a portfolio but won’t reliably protect against stock market crashes since it doesn’t consistently move in the opposite direction,” he added.
Nevertheless, the RedStone executive articulated that if Bitcoin truly transitions to being treated as a safe-haven, risk-off asset, it would mark the most profound asset narrative transformation in modern financial history.
“I believe that’s possible. But not in such a short timespan as crypto believers would like it to be,” Kazmierczak concluded.
Chart of the Day
Bitcoin vs S&P 500 performance: Source: TradingView
The chart suggests Bitcoin’s performance has often diverged from traditional equity markets, especially in 2024-2025.
However, this does not definitively indicate a permanent decoupling or consistent negative correlation with equities.
While Bitcoin outperformed at times, it still shows periods of correlation with the S&P 500, indicating its role in portfolio protection remains uncertain and context-dependent.
Donald Trump will speak at the Digital Asset Summit (DAS) in New York on March 20, notably, this will be the first time a sitting U.S. president has ever joined a crypto conference.
Just recently, Donald Trump hosted the inaugural White House Crypto Summit. While the crypto community wasn’t thrilled with the outcomes, the event delivered key updates on the US Bitcoin Reserve and shed light on the government’s current approach to crypto regulation.
Could Be A Pre-recorded Message
The announcement comes after Bo Hines, Executive Director of the White House’s Council of Advisers on Digital Assets, spoke at DAS this week, hinting at plans to stockpile Bitcoin for a new strategic reserve. “It’s high time that our president started accumulating assets for the American people, which is what President Trump is doing rather than taking it away,” Hines told the crowd on Tuesday.
Some reports suggest that Trump’s appearance at the event may not be live, with some sources hinting at a pre-recorded message instead. Regardless, this still marks a historic moment as the U.S. president is set to formally address a crypto conference.
Key Discussions
At the event, discussions will center on Bitcoin’s adoption by institutions, regulatory updates, and the future of the crypto market. Trump is expected to outline his administration’s next steps on Bitcoin.
FOX business journalist Eleanor Terrett also shared that multiple sources at the DAS Conference have clarified that President Trump is planning to livestream into the event either today or tomorrow to address the audience.
The summit will bring together top lawmakers like Representatives Ro Khanna and Tom Emmer, along with industry giants like MicroStrategy’s Michael Saylor and Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse. Michael Saylor will give a keynote speech and join a discussion with BTC historian Pete Rizzo. Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart will moderate a panel with key players, including Robbie Mitchnick, Head of Digital Assets at BlackRock, and Giang Bui, Head of U.S. Equities & Exchange-Traded Products at Nasdaq.
Ripple-SEC Lawsuit Ends
In a remarkable update, Garlinghouse revealed today that the SEC has dropped its appeal in the XRP lawsuit, marking a major victory for Ripple and the crypto industry.
The crypto market has been showing signs of recovery this week, following a period of volatility. Besides, the Federal Reserve announced today that it won’t be making any immediate rate cuts. However, the central bank has plans for two rate cuts later this year, which could influence financial markets, including crypto.
The post Trump to Speak at First-Ever Crypto Summit as Market Shows Signs of Recovery appeared first on Coinpedia Fintech News
Donald Trump will speak at the Digital Asset Summit (DAS) in New York on March 20, notably, this will be the first time a sitting U.S. president has ever joined a crypto conference. Just recently, Donald Trump hosted the inaugural White House Crypto Summit. While the crypto community wasn’t thrilled with the outcomes, the event …
Donald Trump announced today that he’s instituting a 90-day pause on all tariffs except those on China. Bitcoin has surged over $80,000, while altcoins like XRP, Solana, and Cardano surged more than 10% in just minutes of the announcement.
The Dow Jones and stock market reacted similarly, surging by 2,000 points after the news. The US President has now added a total of 125% tariff on China, while pausing others.
Today, however, Trump has made a surprising reversal. Although he is increasing tariffs against China to 125%, he is repealing those on other nations.
Based on the lack of respect that China has shown to the World’s Markets, I am hereby raising the Tariff charged to China by the United States of America to 125%, effective immediately. At some point, hopefully in the near future, China will realize that the days of ripping off…
— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) April 9, 2025
This news immediately caused a substantial rally in the markets. At 1:30 PM Eastern Time, the Dow Jones responded by shooting upwards over 2000 points, and this was mirrored in other high-profile stocks.
Dow Jones Reacts to Tariff Relief. Source: Google Finance
Still, the erratic nature of Trump’s tariff strategy has left more than a few open questions. In his announcement, Trump only mentioned China’s retaliation strategy by name, lumping all other countries together.
However, a few crucial markets, like the EU, also retaliated. It is currently unclear how Trump will treat other actors, as China is his main target.
Open questions like this may continue to cause market uncertainty. As analyst Joe Wiesenthal pointed out, Trump has already caused a lot of economic chaos with his tariff threats alone.
Will he retaliate against nations other than China? Will former allies continue pulling away from the US? These live questions may frustrate long-term economic gain
