‘Bitcoin Aiming For New Heights,’ According To Bitwise CIO—But There’s A Catch — TradingView News

In an investor word dated April 15, 2025, Matt Hougan, the Chief Funding Officer (CIO) of Bitwise, offered an evaluation of Bitcoin’s current buying and selling tendencies that may shock each its critics and advocates. He said, “Bitcoin is behaving like an asset desirous to rise, offered macro hurdles are eliminated.”

As per Hougan, Bitcoin’s value on April 14 was roughly $84,379, marginally up from $84,317 a month prior—a negligible change of 0.07% in a 30-day span. This secure efficiency occurred amidst two main geopolitical developments: the USA saying a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and President Donald Trump implementing in depth tariffs on varied nations.

The energy Bitcoin has demonstrated throughout this time starkly contrasts with the broader decline in conventional monetary markets. Hougan highlighted that the S&P 500, which reached its peak on February 19, has decreased by 12.0%, whereas Bitcoin has skilled a comparable dip of 12.4% since then.

He discovered this correlation exceptional, particularly as a result of it deviates from Bitcoin’s previous habits in market downturns. For instance, through the 2022 correction, the S&P 500 dropped 24.5%, whereas Bitcoin plummeted by 58.3%. Equally, on the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, shares fell 33.8%, whereas Bitcoin declined by 38.1%. In late 2018, amid rising commerce tensions between the U.S. and China, equities fell by 19.36%, with Bitcoin dropping by 37.22%. This historic sample has bolstered the assumption that when shares decline, Bitcoin invariably suffers a extra extreme downturn.

In his newest commentary, Hougan highlighted how totally different the present circumstances really feel. Quite than being battered considerably greater than the fairness market, Bitcoin is now carefully mirroring inventory losses. He acknowledged that this alone doesn’t qualify Bitcoin as a definitive hedge asset, noting, “Critics might argue that matching the efficiency of shares throughout a downturn doesn’t equate to being a hedge asset and level out that gold has outperformed Bitcoin throughout this pullback. That’s correct.”

Nevertheless, he asserted that Bitcoin’s stability across the $80,000 threshold throughout international market turbulence serves as a testomony to its enduring energy amidst varied macroeconomic shocks. “If that doesn’t instill confidence in its resilience, I’m undecided what’s going to,” he remarked.

Hougan believes we’re witnessing a transformative stage in Bitcoin’s growth. He defined that the cryptocurrency has historically been influenced by two opposing forces: it has acted as a threat asset, tied to substantial upside potential and volatility, whereas additionally sometimes behaving like a hedge just like gold.

In Bitcoin’s earlier days, the risk-asset side usually prevailed; throughout important fairness sell-offs, traders usually dismissed Bitcoin extra swiftly and aggressively than they might shares. Presently, with extra firms integrating Bitcoin into their steadiness sheets, institutional traders contemplating it for diversified portfolios, and governments—just like the U.S.—including it to strategic reserves, there appears to be a gradual shift in the direction of Bitcoin being regarded extra as “digital gold”.

Nonetheless, Hougan cautioned that traders mustn’t underestimate the inherent unpredictability of the present macro panorama. He famous that fairness markets might not have reached their backside, elevating the chance that extra extreme declines might expose Bitcoin’s vulnerabilities ought to widespread panic ensue.

He acknowledged that gold continues to exemplify basic safe-haven habits throughout systemic shocks, which means Bitcoin has but to definitively show that it may well change conventional hedges amid intense financial turmoil. Nonetheless, as he said, “The world is unraveling, but Bitcoin is buying and selling above $80,000.”

Hougan emphasised that there is no such thing as a certainty this development will persist, significantly given the unpredictable outcomes that might come up from sudden tariff escalations or shifts in financial coverage. He concluded his word with, “Our child is maturing right into a macro asset. And witnessing that may be a stunning factor.”

At press time, BTC was buying and selling at $85,200.