Donald Trump's Tariffs Will Push Bitcoin Closer to Achieving the Safe Haven Asset Status

That's according to Messari analyst Dylan Bane, who sees the US President's trade taxes on some 100 countries working as a catalyst that could move the cryptocurrency away from simply following the ebbs and flows of stock markets.

Donald Trump’s tariffs will push Bitcoin closer to achieving the safe haven asset status maxis like Strategy’s Michael Saylor have envisioned for years.

That’s according to Messari analyst Dylan Bane, who sees the US President’s trade taxes on some 100 countries working as a catalyst that could move the cryptocurrency away from simply following the ebbs and flows of stock markets.

“Tariffs represent a retreat from the global economic system that has existed since the end of the Cold War,” Bane said on Wednesday.

He said the tariffs could thus trigger “deeper and more lasting shifts in the global economic order” and establish Bitcoin as a form of digital gold to hedge against market turmoil.

Trump has upended global financial markets with an aggressive trade tax regime against some of the US’ closest allies.

The dollar is the cornerstone of that economic system, but market watchers say institutions and governments are increasingly losing confidence in the Greenback.

“The trade war is just the latest example of this administration’s contempt for the rest of the world,” said Mark Sobel, US chair of OMFIF, a financial think-tank, and a former senior Treasury official, in an interview with the Financial Times. “Being a trusted partner and ally is a key pillar of the US dollar’s dominance, and has been tossed to the wind.”

That could be just the opportunity Bitcoin maximalists have been waiting on.

“Over time, we believe this could lead to Bitcoin decoupling from US equities,” Bane said. “It may increasingly be viewed not as a tech stock proxy or risk-on trade, but as a credible inflation hedge and long-term store of value.”

The DXY Index, which measures the dollar’s strength against other currencies, has steadily declined since a January high of around 110 to a current 99.37.

To be sure, Bitcoin hasn’t achieved safe haven asset status yet. Gold remains king in that regard, and reached an all-time high of $3,375 an ounce this week amid the ongoing trade chaos

Crypto market movers