$BTC surged above $94,000 — What is fueling this fire?
Bitcoin's rally gained new momentum on Tuesday, surpassing the $94,000 mark and extending gains to 26% since April 9. Three forces converging—geopolitics, strategic balance sheet demand, and recovering ETF fund flows—have coalesced in the past 24 hours to ignite the rally.
Why is Bitcoin rising today?
The first spark came from Washington, where U.S. President Donald Trump signaled a partial thaw in the protracted tariff dispute with Beijing. Sitting behind the podium at the White House, Trump stated that tariffs on imports from China 'will be significantly reduced, but not to 0,' before asserting he would be 'very nice to China' as long as both sides reach an agreement.
Macroeconomic economist Alex Krüger summarized the president's remarks in a widely circulated post on X, noting that Trump 'just checked off most of the de-escalation/upward price boxes.' Among the verbatim phrases Krüger highlighted were: 'Tariffs on China will not be as high as 145%', 'It will be significantly reduced,' and when asked if he would 'play hardball,' the president's succinct answer was 'No.'
Stock indices reacted immediately, but Bitcoin's move was stronger, highlighting the market's sensitivity to macroeconomic instability and any signs that the Federal Reserve's path could tilt towards being more dovish if trade tensions ease.
While geopolitics shapes the tone, a second catalyst comes from Wall Street: the prospect of a multi-billion dollar balance sheet bid for Bitcoin led by the next generation of the Lutnick family. According to the Financial Times, Brandon Lutnick—newly appointed chairman of Cantor Fitzgerald and son of Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick—is forming 'Cantor Equity Partners' along with SoftBank, Tether, and Bitfinex.
The alliance plans to invest in a new entity, 21 Capital, with around $3 billion in Bitcoin. Tether intends to contribute $1.5 billion in asset value, SoftBank approximately $900 million, and Bitfinex around $600 million, the report stated, warning that the figures could still change before an official announcement expected in the coming weeks.
On X, Texas Bitcoin Foundation board member Tuur Demeester highlighted the significance of this announcement: 'This announcement may explain why the price of bitcoin rose 12% in the past week.'
The third support leg came from the U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF market, where inflows have decisively returned to positive territory. Data compiled from issuing units showed net inflows totaled $911.2 million on Tuesday—the strongest daily total since January 17, when pre-inauguration optimism surrounding Trump's 'crypto president' speech generated $975.6 million.
Fidelity's FBTC fund attracted $253.8 million, Ark Invest's ARKB attracted $267.1 million, and BlackRock's leading market IBIT added $192.1 million, while the smaller Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) reversed weeks of outflows with an inflow of $65.1 million.
The shift began on Monday, when the group attracted $381 million—ending a weeks-long stretch dominated by outflows—and accelerated as Bitcoin surpassed the $90,000 mark. The $1.29 billion surge over two days signals a significant recovery in institutional demand.
At the time of reporting, BTC was trading at $94,212.
