Bitcoin (BTC) is showing “signs of resilience” even as stocks and the broader cryptocurrency market plunge amid a global market sell-off after US President Donald Trump imposed sweeping tariffs on US imports last week, Binance Research said. 

As of mid-day trading on April 7, Bitcoin is up almost 1% to nearly $79,000. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 — an index of large US stocks — is essentially flat and front-month gold futures are down around 1.5%, according to Google Finance.

“Even in the wake of recent tariff announcements, BTC has shown some signs of resilience, holding steady or rebounding on days when traditional risk assets faltered,” Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, said in an April 7 research report.  

Notably, Bitcoin’s supply of long-term holders continues to rise, “reflecting conviction and limited capitulation during recent volatility,” Binance said.

On April 2, Trump said he was putting tariffs of at least 10% on most imports into the United States and adding additional “reciprocal” tariffs on goods from 57 countries. 

Since then, major US stock indices — including the S&P 500 and Nasdaq — dropped by more than 10% as traders braced for a looming trade war.

Bitcoin is still down more than stocks — about 12% — but has held up better than crypto’s overall market capitalization, which is down roughly 25% since April 2.

“Now, with reciprocal tariffs emerging and global markets adjusting to the prospect of prolonged trade fragmentation, much could hinge on BTC’s ability to reassert its safe haven narrative,” the report said. 

Source: Binance Research

Related: Crypto stocks down, IPOs punted amid tariff tumult

Changing asset correlations

Bitcoin’s correlation with gold — historically considered the ultimate safe haven asset during times of extreme macroeconomic uncertainty — has been low, averaging around 0.12 over the past 90 days, Binance said. 

The cryptocurrency has a closer correlation with equities of 0.32. However, “despite short-term swings, BTC may still have room to reassert a more independent macro identity,” according to the exchange. 

“The key question is whether BTC can return to its long-term pattern of low correlation with equities,” noted the report. 

Source: Binance Research

For now, gold appears to be the preferred safe haven asset among fund managers, Binance said. 

It cited a survey in which 58% of respondents said they would prefer to hold gold during a trade war versus only 3% for Bitcoin. 

“Market participants will be watching closely to see if BTC is able to retain its appeal as a non-sovereign, permissionless asset in a protectionist global economy,” Binance said.

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