Lately, I’ve been diving into how global economic shifts impact crypto, and something interesting came up in a recent report from Grayscale: trade tensions and tariffs might not be all bad news — at least, not for Bitcoin.
Here’s the logic. When tariffs go up, economies often slow down while prices rise — a scenario known as stagflation. That kind of environment isn’t great for most traditional assets. But for scarce, hard assets like gold — and by extension, Bitcoin — it’s a very different story.
Bitcoin has earned its reputation as a kind of digital gold — a modern store of value that doesn’t play by the same rules as fiat. So when the U.S. ramps up tariffs, and the dollar starts feeling the heat, investors might start looking elsewhere. That “elsewhere” could very well be BTC.
This theory got a bit of real-world confirmation when crypto markets pumped after President Trump announced a temporary 90-day pause on tariffs for countries that hadn’t struck back at the U.S. It’s a signal that global financial stress can nudge investors toward alternative assets.
Grayscale even pointed out that ongoing dollar weakness, coupled with above-average inflation, could create a macro backdrop where Bitcoin thrives. Plus, they noted that recent and upcoming shifts in U.S. policy might actually help open the door for a wider range of investors to get into Bitcoin.
In short: trade tensions may be rough for traditional markets, but for Bitcoin, they could be just what the bull ordered.