Bitcoin’s (BTC) reputation as digital gold has come under scrutiny following investors’ reaction to the ongoing trade tensions between the United States and other countries. Market experts anticipated a scenario where participants would flock to the leading cryptocurrency as macro conditions affect stocks; however, the opposite has been the case.

Ki Young Ju, the founder and CEO of the on-chain analytics platform CryptoQuant, insisted in an X post that, against popular opinion, bitcoin is not yet digital gold. However, he sees a silver lining in this situation.

Not Digital Gold Yet

Bitcoin has been named digital gold because of its security, limited supply, and generally believed role as a store of value. These characteristics are similar to gold’s, which has a finite supply that enhances its value as a long-term store of wealth.

As global economic tensions, triggered by trade tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump, began in February, many market experts believed BTC would record a significant inflow of capital due to investors leaving the stock market for cryptocurrencies.

Even Arthur Hayes, the co-founder of the crypto derivatives exchange BitMEX, thinks the economic chaos stemming from Trump’s tariffs would lead to a monetary easing cycle that will be bullish for BTC.

While the market awaits the manifestation of such predictions, cryptocurrencies have been hit just as hard as stocks in the past two months, with BTC recording its deepest correction in this cycle.

Ju said tariff experts on X have been “playing 6D chess” since the macro issues began. He explained that uncertainties like this drive demand for safe-haven assets, insinuating that BTC is not seen as such yet. Proof of the CryptoQuant founder’s opinion is that gold has surged by 11% since Trump returned to the White House, while BTC is down more than 25% over the same period.

BTC Now in Bear Season

Despite bitcoin’s questionable status as digital gold, Ju believes the good news is that BTC will eventually surpass gold’s $20 trillion market cap. The cryptocurrency’s market cap currently sits at $1.6 trillion.

Additionally, the CryptoQuant CEO insisted that BTC has entered a bearish phase but is still bullish about the asset’s long-term potential.

Ju’s short-term bearish bias for BTC substantiates his claim that the cryptocurrency has wrapped up its bull run for this cycle. Less than a month ago, he said every on-chain metric signals that BTC is in a bear market, so investors should expect 6-12 months of bearish or sideways price action, especially with fresh liquidity drying up.

Bitcoin’s gradual ascent continued in the past 24 hours as the asset tapped $86,000 for the first time since April 2.

The altcoins have also posted notable gains once again, with XRP and SOL leading the pack from the larger caps.

BTC Touches $86K

The rollercoaster of a week for BTC began with a nosedive from $84,000 to a five-month low of under $75,000 on Monday. Although the asset attempted an immediate recovery, it was ultimately stopped and pushed toward the same levels on Wednesday. This came amid the escalating tension between the US, China, and the rest of the world.

However, bitcoin started to reclaim ground once US President Trump paused the tariffs on every other nation, aside from China. The cryptocurrency skyrocketed by several grand on Wednesday and tapped $83,300.

As China retaliated, BTC retraced slightly to under $79,000, but reversed its trajectory in the following few days. This culminated yesterday at $86,000, which became an 11-day peak.

Although it has failed there and now sits below $85,000, BTC’s market cap is up by $1.680 trillion on CG. Its dominance over the alts continues to stand tall above 60%.

PI, XRP, SOL on the Rise

The altcoins are also in the green today, with ETH reclaiming $1.6 after a 3% daily surge. XRP and SOL have marked similar increases of around 5% and now trade close to $2.15 and $130, respectively. SUI and BCH have jumped by 6-7% to $2.33 and $340, while PI has stolen the show from the larger-cap alts once again.

The altcoin, which was declining severely for over a month, has jumped by another 10% in the past day and trades close to $0.75.

BNB, DOGE, ADA, LINK, and XLM also have some gains but in a more modest manner.

The total crypto market cap has added more than $40 billion overnight and is up to $2.79 trillion on CG.

TL;DR

• Bitcoin recovered ten grand since its weekly low and now aims at $95,000, but it needs to overcome a crucial resistance first.
• Massive spot buying on Binance is among the factors that could propel another rally.

Bitcoin Traders on Binance

The primary cryptocurrency, alongside the rest of the crypto industry and every financial market, was significantly impacted by the Trade War initiated by US President Donald Trump in the past few weeks. There’s no evident end in sight, but the most recent pause could allow markets some breathing room.

That’s why we will exclude macroeconomics from this article and focus more on technical aspects and current investor behavior.

Ali Martinez, a popular crypto analyst, told his 135,000 followers on X that Binance traders went on a buying BTC spree, with the Taker Buy/Sell Ratio exploding to 1.8. He believes this is a positive sign that bulls ‘might be stepping in.’

A big spike in buying pressure for #Bitcoin $BTC just hit on Binance. Bulls might be stepping in pic.twitter.com/dGTbaCMUoa

— Ali (@ali_charts) April 12, 2025

Futures traders on the world’s largest exchange, on the other hand, have opened mostly short positions, with over 56% of all trades hoping for a price decline. However, history shows that BTC tends to do the opposite of what the crowd expects from it, especially on the derivatives scene.

Tech Aspects

While the long-standing battle between bulls and bears continues in full force, Martinez noted that bitcoin has managed to ‘slice through’ the first significant resistance in its way toward price redemption – the 50-day SMA, which is around $84,500. Although BTC is yet to fully overcome that level as it sits next to it now, the overall bullish momentum in the past few days suggests more gains are to come.

If BTC indeed passes through this line, the next major obstacle will be the 200-day SMA at $87,250. Should that fall, the cryptocurrency could surge toward $94,000, Martinez added.

#Bitcoin $BTC is slicing through the 50-day SMA. The next key hurdle is the 200-day SMA at $87,250, and a breakout there could pave the way to $94,100. pic.twitter.com/uO9d9Bhbdq

— Ali (@ali_charts) April 12, 2025