Bitcoin—astonishingly resilient until recently—is starting to crack as liquidity tightens in traditional financial markets.
Although forced liquidations have not yet made a comeback, tension is simmering below the surface. Soaring U.S. Treasury yields and blowing-out corporate credit spreads are draining risk appetite, leading to forced asset liquidations and cash raising wherever they can.
Saylor's stance is steady
Michael Saylor, the owner of the company that is the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, has one word for the current market conditions. On April 9, he posted on X, saying "HODL"- a term used to describe holding digital assets during bear markets.
Saylor is well known for his holding strategy during bear markets. His firm, Strategy (previously MicroStrategy), started accumulating Bitcoin in 2020 and has never sold any Bitcoin in these last five years.
Since 2020, Bitcoin has survived four large bear markets. The first was in March 2020, when COVID-19 triggered a worldwide liquidity crisis. China's crypto crackdown in mid-2021 sent prices below $30,000.
In April 2025, it fell below $75,000 as U.S.–China trade tensions and tighter liquidity returned. Interestingly, according to Kraken's price feed, Bitcoin is down nearly 4%, trading at $76,845.84. At the time of reporting, the global crypto market capitalization is down by nearly 5%.
China escalates tariff war on Trump
China's decision to raise tariffs on American goods from 34% to 84% is a major escalation of its trade war with the Trump administration. In retaliation to sweeping new U.S. tariffs, Beijing said it would also impose export controls on rare earth materials crucial to the tech and electric vehicle industries.
While China presented the action as a matter of national security, Trump dismissed it as an overreaction, saying China "cannot afford to do it." The Xi government has so far declined to negotiate, indicating an increasingly hard-line position as both sides prepare for a prolonged economic standoff with global repercussions.