Bitcoin price trends remained largely unchanged despite President Donald Trump’s vocal criticism of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. On this quiet Good Friday, with global markets mostly closed for the Easter holiday, the crypto market mirrored the subdued sentiment.
The CoinDesk 20 Index (CD20), which tracks top selected cryptocurrencies, moved less than 0.1% in the last 24 hours. Bitcoin (BTC) saw a modest gain of 0.1%, reflecting caution across both traditional and digital markets.
The relatively calm market comes amid harsh criticism from Trump, who called for Powell’s removal over delays in reducing interest rates. Speaking via his Truth Social platform, Trump expressed contention with Powell, blaming rising inflation and job losses on tariffs his administration imposed. He labeled Powell’s actions as insufficient, saying his ouster “cannot come fast enough.” (source)
The President’s remarks have unsettled financial markets. The S&P 500 managed only a 0.1% uptick for the shortened trading week, while the Nasdaq Composite dipped 0.1%. According to Ira Auerbach of Offchain Labs and former Nasdaq executive, the market is on edge due to the White House’s unpredictable economic policies. He believes Bitcoin’s value proposition as an inflation hedge could resurface as monetary policy outlooks become foggier.
For now, investors seem to favor traditional safe-haven assets. Gold continues to shine, with long-term performance now surpassing the S&P 500, even when accounting for dividends (source).
Despite economic anxieties, crypto has support in regulatory strides under the Trump administration. Institutional players have gradually increased their engagement, encouraged by a clearer policy environment (more here).
“Let the dust settle,” advised Charles d’Haussy, CEO of dYdX Foundation, referring to unfolding tariffs and related negotiations. He suggested that central bank responses may not fully materialize until later in the summer.
Crypto Events to Watch
- April 18: Pepecoin undergoes its second halving.
- April 20: BNB Chain’s opBNB mainnet hardfork at 11 p.m.
- April 21: Coinbase Derivatives to list XRP futures (pending CFTC approval).
- April 25: SEC Roundtable on crypto custody topics.
Token Events
- Unlocks on April 18:
- Trump (TRUMP): $314 million
- Fasttoken (FTN): $84 million
- Melania Meme (MELANIA): $10.7 million
- UXLINK: $16.5 million
- Immutable (IMX): $10 million
Market Overview
- Bitcoin (BTC): $84,550
- Ethereum (ETH): $1,587.85
- CoinDesk 20 Index: +1% at 2,460.30
- Gold: $3,308.80/oz (-0.54%)
- Nasdaq: -0.13%
- S&P 500: +0.13%
Crypto in Context
The surge in meme coin activity and Solana-based platforms like Pump.fun is capturing attention. New trading functionalities, like PumpSwap, have led to daily volumes soaring above $650 million, eclipsing even the likes of Aave and Tron in revenue generation (source).
Not all excitement is from retail or DeFi camps. On the institutional side, HashKey Capital is launching an Asia-focused XRP tracker fund backed by Ripple (source).
Bitcoin remains stable for now, but mounting macroeconomic pressures and evolving political dynamics may soon reignite volatility across the digital asset space.
