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Bitcoin (BTC-USD) rallied 5% on Thursday, mirroring a broader upswing in financial markets following another major policy shift by US president Donald Trump.
After dipping to local trading lows of around $76,000 (£59,045) on Wednesday, bitcoin rebounded strongly, climbing above the $82,000 mark — a peak not reached in nearly a week.
Read more: Crypto live prices
Trump announced a 90-day pause on most “reciprocal tariffs” imposed on nearly 60 countries on Wednesday. The move provided a breath of fresh air for risk-on traders, resulting in an immediate uptick in both cryptocurrency and equity markets.
Trump simultaneously increased the total tariff rate on Chinese goods to 125%, underscoring the continued trade tensions between the two economies.
Equities experience robust gains
US equity markets responded enthusiastically to the tariff pause. By the end of the trading day on Wednesday, the benchmark S&P 500 (^GSPC) and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) had surged by 9.52% and 12.16%, respectively. The Nasdaq 100 (^NDX) experienced its largest single-day percentage gain in decades.
Across Europe, momentum continued into Thursday, with the pan-European STOXX 600 (^STOXX) rising 7.2% in early trading. This recovery came after the index had fallen 12.5% following the implementation of the US reciprocal tariffs last Wednesday.
Read more: Pound rises amid Trump's tariff U-turn
Germany’s DAX (^GDAXI) increased by 8.1%, benefiting from the renewed market confidence.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 (^N225) and South Korea’s KOSPI (^KS11) opened around 7% and 5% higher, respectively, in response to the US rally.
However, US stock futures pointed to the potential for further losses on Thursday, with Dow futures (YM=F) down 1.22%, S&P 500 futures (ES=F) declining 1.56%, and Nasdaq futures (NQ=F) sliding 1.79% ahead of Thursday’s market open.
Mixed signals in the cryptocurrency ETF market
Mixed performance in cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETFs) highlighted ongoing complexities and cautious sentiment among institutional investors in the wake of the Trump administration's evolving trade policies.
Despite the surge in underlying cryptocurrency prices, US spot bitcoin and ether ETFs reported significant outflows on Wednesday.
Data from Farside Investors revealed that 11 bitcoin ETFs experienced a net outflow of $127.2m on Wednesday, including an $89.7m withdrawal from BlackRock’s IBIT (IBIT). This day marked the fifth consecutive session of net outflows, cumulatively amounting to $722m over the period.
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