Bitcoin Closes the Month at $95,000 Despite Tariff Wars and Equity Market Uncertainty

Stay up to date with our monthly market commentary:

• Spot Bitcoin ETFs experienced one of the largest weekly net inflows, totaling $3.06 billion.
• SoftBank, Tether, and Jack Mallers partner with Cantor Equity Partners to launch Twenty One Capital, a new public Bitcoin company with a BTC starting balance of 31,500 BTC.
• Bitcoin (BTC) closed the month up 15%, while Ether (ETH) is up 0.8% compared to last month.*

Market Overview - April 

The price of Bitcoin (BTC) increased by 15% in April, closing the month at around the $95,000 mark.

April was a mixed month for Bitcoin, digital assets, and equities. The first two weeks were marked by considerable uncertainty due to the U.S. administration's tariff announcements. 

On April 2, which President Trump dubbed “Liberation Day,” his administration announced a baseline tariff of 10% on all imported goods to the U.S., with additional tariffs imposed on specific countries and products. However, some clauses were in place for particular industries or countries, meaning certain parts of the world would pay far more than this.

This led to mixed reactions from other countries, including economic zones such as the European Union, which began negotiating with the U.S. to lower the tariffs imposed on them. 

The biggest focus for President Trump was China, one of the U.S.'s largest trading partners.

What started with a 34% tariff quickly escalated to higher and higher tariff announcements by both nations. At one point, the U.S. was demanding tariffs as high as 145% on Chinese imports. In the meantime, the U.S. administration announced a 90-day tariff suspension for all countries besides China.

This back-and-forth led to volatility in the equities and digital assets markets. But there were differences between the two. While equities required more time to find a foothold and stabilize, Bitcoin (BTC) managed to break out and even increase over the next two weeks, finishing the month at $95,000. 

At times, Bitcoin even managed to decouple from NASDAQ. While technology companies struggled, Bitcoin seemed to be an alternative for investors. If you take an even closer look, you will see that BTC outperformed big tech companies such as NVIDIA, Meta, or Google in April.   

Crypto Asset Market Performance Review 

The crypto asset markets closed in the green in April, with some of the larger altcoin digital assets just entering the green, while Bitcoin (BTC), Solana (SOL), and Polygon (POL) were the clear winners this month, increasing by more than 15% on average. 

In April, Bitcoin demonstrated remarkable resilience once again. 

After a slow start to the month, with a near 6% drop after the tariff announcements by U.S. President Donald Trump, BTC increased by more than 20% from $78,000 to close out the month at $95,000. 

In the second half of the month, Bitcoin even managed to decouple from the NASDAQ at times and outperformed major tech stocks, which struggled to rebound as quickly after the tariff announcements. 

The best performer this month was Solana with an increase of 19.9%. Solana’s blockchain has a reputation as one of the fastest blockchains in the crypto market, and its developer-focused approach has led to the development of unique use cases such as memecoins and collectibles. 

The network also had reason to celebrate this month, as various asset managers launched spot Solana ETFs in Canada. These funds, along with the increase in interest, contributed to Solana’s monthly performance. 

The second-best performer this month was Polygon with an increase of 18.8%. The popular Ethereum Layer 2 alternative experienced a surge in trading volume, accompanied by the launch of the Polygon aggregator program, Agglayer Breakout, which supports projects on its Proof-of-Stake (PoS) ecosystem, ultimately benefiting POL token stakers.

The remainder of the crypto asset market saw smaller increases, but no major breakouts, unlike the top performers of April. 

Institutional Interest in Bitcoin

April was an eventful month for institutional interest in Bitcoin. Spot Bitcoin ETFs experienced three consecutive weeks of net inflows, with one of these weeks recording over $3.06 billion in net inflows. 

Additionally, Twenty One (XXI), a newly formed company backed by SoftBank, Tether, Jack Mallers, and Cantor Equity Partners, was launched to offer dedicated Bitcoin strategies and provide as much Bitcoin ownership per share as possible. 

Spot Bitcoin ETFs saw three consecutive net inflow weeks in April

April started slowly for spot Bitcoin ETF investors, with two straight weeks of outflows. Most of these outflows were in reaction to the ongoing tariff announcements and the possibility of a tariff war between the U.S., the EU, Canada, and China. 

Next to Bitcoin and other digital assets, equities also experienced significant downward corrections, with major U.S. technology stocks dropping by more than 5% in a single trading day at some points early in April. 

However, in the third week of April, the sentiment began to turn around, and the second-to-last week of April resulted in one of the largest net inflow weeks for all spot Bitcoin ETFs combined since their launch in January 2024. 

Within the week of April 25, over $3.06 billion in funds were deposited. Overall, in April, all ETFs saw over $2.85 billion in net inflows, totaling $109.30 billion in net assets under management or 5.83% of Bitcoin’s market cap. 

SoftBank, Tether, and Jack Mallers partner with Cantor Equity Partners to launch Bitcoin-native company Twenty One 

Tether, SoftBank, and Jack Mallers announced a Bitcoin-native company, called Twenty One Capital, in April. The firm has entered into a definitive agreement for a business combination with Cantor Equity Partners (CEP), a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) sponsored by an affiliate of Cantor Fitzgerald.

According to its press release,“Twenty One is expected to offer investors a singular vehicle for Bitcoin exposure, pro-Bitcoin advocacy, and Bitcoin-focused content and media with plans to explore future expansion into Bitcoin-native financial products… Twenty One is expected to launch with over 42,000 Bitcoin and a mission to maximize Bitcoin ownership per share.”

On April 24, the company announced its first Bitcoin purchase, with 31,500 BTC added to the balance sheet. In the coming weeks, they will expand their BTC position to 42,000 BTC on the company’s balance sheet. 

Brandon Lutnick, the son of U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, will step into his father's role as chairman of Cantor Fitzgerald, overseeing the company’s development. He aims to employ a similar Bitcoin strategy, such as that of Strategy, formerly MicroStrategy, through convertible bond offerings to acquire as much BTC as possible. 

Bitcoin on Balance Sheets

Strategy’s Michael Saylor announced a $42 billion capital plan with a $21 billion equity offering in October 2024. In April, the company bought 3,459, 6,556, and 15,355 BTC, totaling 553,55 BTC on the company’s balance sheet.  

Metaplanet, a publicly traded Japanese company, announced the issuance of moving strike stock acquisition rights to raise up to ¥116 billion to buy Bitcoin in January 2024. This month, the company bought 696, 160, 319, 330, and 145 BTC, totaling 5,000 BTC on its balance sheet.  

Twenty One is the latest Bitcoin treasury company to enter the Bitcoin on the balance sheet realm. Backed by SoftBank, Tether, and Bitfinex, and led by Jack Mallers, the firm intends to leverage capital markets to maximize Bitcoin ownership per share (BPS) and pioneer Bitcoin-native financial tools. The company initiated a 31,500 BTC purchase and has been holding this amount on its balance sheet since April 24. 

Marathon Digital Holding, a publicly traded miner in the U.S., acquired 1,226 BTC, bringing the company's total BTC holdings to 47,600 BTC on its balance sheet. 

Semler Scientific, a publicly traded company in the U.S., acquired 111 BTC, bringing the company's total BTC holdings to 3,303 BTC on its balance sheet. 

‍*Closing price data is from April 29, 2025, at 16:45 CET