Bitcoin surged past the $97,000 mark on Thursday, buoyed by a strong stock market rally on Wall Street, sparked by positive quarterly earnings results from tech giants, Microsoft and Meta. This significant rally came despite Microsoft’s warning that extensive tariffs could potentially devastate numerous small businesses.
At the time of writing, the premier cryptocurrency was trading around $96,600, marking a 2.7% increase over the past 24 hours, as per data from CoinGecko. Other cryptocurrencies, or altcoins, saw even larger growth; Ethereum and Dogecoin rose by 3.5% and 5% to reach $1,850 and $0.18, respectively.
Microsoft and Meta’s robust financial results not only surpassed analyst expectations but also suggested that President Trump’s ongoing trade war has not adversely impacted the ‘Magnificent Seven’ stocks or the artificial intelligence trade, which briefly propelled chipmaker Nvidia into the world’s most valuable company last year.
Nvidia itself experienced a 2.6% increase in stock price to $112, as per data from Yahoo Finance. This uptick comes shortly before President Trump’s anticipated visit to the U.A.E. later this month. As per a Bloomberg report, the U.S. is currently contemplating a bilateral chip deal, which could potentially relax restrictions on Nvidia sales in the region.
Steven Lubka, the head of private clients at Swan Bitcoin, attributed Bitcoin’s rally to a risk-on sentiment, despite its recent surge, fuelled by tariff-induced turmoil, alongside gold. He noted, “The narrative that’s been going around Wall Street for the last few weeks is, ‘heads we win, tails we win. Either the [economic] situation keeps getting worse, and Bitcoin rallies with gold […], or we get out of this whole tariff situation, and Bitcoin wins in that scenario too”.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis revealed that the U.S. economy had contracted at an annualized rate of 0.3% in the first quarter, thereby heightening recession fears. Certain analysts predict that should an economic slowdown force the Federal Reserve to reduce interest rates, Bitcoin could stand to benefit.
However, for small businesses across America, the economic repercussions of Trump’s tariffs could inflict “irreparable” damage, as warned by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in a letter issued on Thursday. Suzanne P. Clar, the business organization’s President and CEO, wrote, “They need immediate relief from tariffs. As each day goes by, small businesses are increasingly endangered by higher costs and interrupted supply chains.”
Lubka stated that while investors initially reacted sensitively to Trump’s tariffs, as the economic implications become more apparent, they are beginning to see through them. He concluded, “The market is realizing that this is just not where we’re going to end up. They think they’re not going to stick.”
Edited by James Rubin
