Bitcoin (BTC) rose over 1.5% to $84,900 Saturday, looking to break a three-month downtrend after the Trump administration issued new guidance on reciprocal tariffs, listing several exemptions like smartphones, computers, chips and other electronics.

These exclusions, published by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, list products from President Donald Trump’s 125% China tariff and his baseline 10% global levy.

«The US imports over $60 BILLION of smartphones per year. These exemptions cover some of the most crucial imports in another sign of the U.S. conceding in the trade war. After all, the bond market is forcing Trump to concede,» The Kobeissi Letter said on X.

The U.S. and China ratcheted up trade tensions this week, imposing import tariffs in excess of 100% over each other. Still, some sections of the financial market have priced in disinflation in the U.S., going against popular inflation fears and suggesting that the Fed might soon have a leeway to cut interest rates.

The chart shows that BTC is looking to establish a foothold above the descending trendline, characterizing the steep sell-off from record highs above $109K. The so-called trendline breakout could entice more chart-driven buyers to the market.

Meanwhile, major alternative cryptocurrencies like ETH, XRP, and ADA surged by 6% on the day, indicating a trend of increased risk-taking in the broader crypto market. The cumulative market cap of the top two stablecoins, USDT and USDC, held steady above $200 billion, just shy of record highs.

This positive momentum in the crypto market, which opened for trading over the weekend, suggests the potential for price gains on Wall Street come Monday.

Late Friday, attorneys with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Binance filed a joint status report asking a federal judge to continue a 60-day pause in the case for another 60 days.

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Who’s left?

The narrative

We heard about two more Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) cases this week. The first, Binance and the SEC, was last paused in February, though late Friday attorneys asked for another extension to continue discussing matters. Separately, Nova Labs settled allegations with the regulator.

Why it matters

As we continue to watch the SEC develop its new views on digital asset issues, how it treats its active litigation remains a key signal.

Breaking it down

On Friday, attorneys with the SEC and Binance (as well as Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, Binance.US and other parties) filed a joint motion asking the federal judge overseeing the case to extend a pause originally set to expire Monday by another 60 days.

Originally, the SEC said it was requesting the pause to see how the agency’s new crypto task force might address digital assets and the application of securities laws. Friday’s filing echoed this argument, saying the task force’s work «may impact» its claims in the ongoing litigation. The original pause was set to end on April 14.

The SEC also filed a motion for a consent judgement after apparently coming to a settlement agreement with Nova Labs, the company behind Helium. According to the proposal, Nova Labs would pay $200,000 but would not admit to or deny the allegations.

The SEC first sued Nova Labs in January 2025 — specifically, Jan. 17, 2025, three days before Donald Trump was sworn into office as the 47th U.S. President.

I imagine there are more cases or investigations being resolved than CoinDesk has caught — if you’ve received a Wells Notice and that’s now been resolved, please hit us up, we’re very curious. You can reply to this email or reach out on Telegram and Signal.

Stories you may have missed

DOJ Axes Crypto Unit as Trump’s Regulatory Pullback Continues: The Departmetn of Justice disbanded its National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team and ordered prosecutors not to bring a case where it may find itself adjudicating what a security or commodity is in the digital assets sector. More on this next week.

Inside North Korea’s Favorite Crypto Laundering Tool: THORChain: THORChain and wallets built on the network have become increasingly favored by North Korean hackers looking to move funds stolen from other crypto projects. The network’s operators have refused to block transactions tied to the Bybit theft from February.

SEC Approves Trading of Ether ETF Options: The SEC has not yet approved any new exchange-traded products for tokens like Solana or Litecoin ETFs but it did green-light ether ETF options trading this week.

New SEC Staff Statement Urges Detailed Crypto Token Disclosures: The latest SEC staff statement, which came out a day before its second roundtable discussion, focused on the details it’s observed in disclosures from crypto companies launching registered security products.

Atkins Confirmed by U.S. Senate to Take Over SEC Formerly Run by Gensler: Speaking of the SEC, the Senate confirmed Trump’s nominee for chair Paul Atkins, though he hadn’t been sworn in by 1:00 p.m. ET Friday.

Former Ethereum Developer Virgil Griffith Leaves Prison, Seeks Pardon: Virgil Griffith, an Ethereum developer who pleaded guilty to violating sanctions law and was sentenced to 56 months in prison, has been released to a halfway house and is now seeking a pardon, one of his attorneys said.

President Trump Signs Resolution Erasing IRS Crypto Rule Targeting DeFi: U.S. President Donald Trump signed the joint House and Senate resolution overturning the IRS’ DeFi broker rule under the Congressional Review Act, meaning the IRS can never bring a similar rule forth again. This is the first crypto-specific, Congressionally-passed item Trump has signed since taking office, marking a milestone for the crypto industry.

1 In 5 Cross-Chain Crypto Investigations Involve More Than 10 Blockchains, Elliptic Finds: Blockchain analytics firm Elliptic said 20% of its investigations into funds sent across multiple chains now involve at least 10 different networks.

Ripple and SEC File Joint Motion to Pause Appeals: Ripple and the SEC have filed a joint motion to pause their ongoing appeals, following on from last month’s announcement that the parties came to an agreement to resolve the case entirely.

Block Agrees to $40M Settlement With New York Over Faulty Money-Laundering Controls: Block and the New York Attorney General’s office settled allegations that Block did not have a fully functioning anti-money laundering process for its Cash App.

Judge Rules Against Most of DCG’s Motion to Dismiss NYAG’s Civil Securities Fraud Suit: A New York state judge tossed out two of the New York Attorney General’s claims against Digital Currency Group and its executives but allowed most of the case to proceed in a late Friday ruling.

This week

Wednesday

14:00 UTC (10:00 a.m. ET) The House Financial Services Committee held a hearing to discuss issues ahead of an expected market structure bill addressing crypto.

18:00 UTC (2:00 p.m. ET) The House Agriculture Committee also held a hearing on similar topics.

Thursday

14:00 UTC (10:00 a.m. ET) The Senate Banking Committee held a confirmation hearing on a raft of nominees, including Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision nominee Michelle Bowman. While she received a few questions about reviewing the regulatory response to Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse, there was not anything substantive around crypto during the hearing.

14:30 UTC (10:30 a.m. ET) The court overseeing the Department of Justice’s case against Do Kwon held a status conference hearing, where his trial was rescheduled to February 2026. Prosecutors said the DOJ memo from earlier this week would have no bearing on the case.

Friday

17:00 UTC (1:00 p.m. ET) The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission held its second crypto roundtable, this time on trading rules. Acting SEC Chair Mark Uyeda, in recorded remarks, suggested that the agency could look at an interim regulatory framework for companies until it has more permanent rules in place.

Elsewhere:

(CNN) On Monday, pseudonymous X (formerly Twitter) accounts posted about a «90-day pause in tariffs» that sent markets soaring, before the White House denied the claim, which may have been based on a misinterpretation of White House official Kevin Hassett’s response to a question during a Fox News interview.

(CNN) On Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump did announce a 90-day pause in the higher tariff rates against most countries, leaving in place the 10% tariff rate he first announced last week. Tariff rates on China went up to 125% (later clarified to 145%).

(CNBC) The U.S. stock market had a «historically wild week» with swings up and down as traders reacted to the possible effects new U.S. tariffs might have on global trade.

(Reuters) Aircraft parts manufacturer Howmet Aerospace, based in Pittsburgh, warned customers that U.S. tariffs might cause it to halt some shipments.

(Bloomberg) Website owners said Google’s new AI-generated answers feature has cratered traffic to their websites, though Google is denying this.

If you’ve got thoughts or questions on what I should discuss next week or any other feedback you’d like to share, feel free to email me at nik@coindesk.com or find me on Bluesky @nikhileshde.bsky.social.

You can also join the group conversation on Telegram.

See ya’ll next week!

The idea of «safe haven» assets—traditionally marked by gold and government bonds—amid market turmoil, is being tested like never before.

For decades, portfolio construction and risk management were simple: 60% equities, 40% bonds and when markets panicked, capital typically flowed into gold and government bonds. These assets were slow, steady, and predictable, making them an ideal safe haven for investors looking for protection against volatility. But in today’s world of 24/7 markets, geopolitical instability, and rising distrust in sovereign systems, have turned that logic on its head, asking the question: does the definition of a safe haven need a refresh?

Enter the new kid in the block: bitcoin.

It is highly volatile, widely misunderstood, and often dismissed as a speculative asset by many corners of Wall Street and Main Street. Yet, it has staged an extraordinary run since the COVID-19 market lows.

It’s up over 1,000% since the COVID-19 market crash in March 2020. During that same period, long-duration bonds—measured via iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT)—are down 50% from their 2020 highs. Even gold, the true and tried safe haven asset—up 90% over five years—looks less impressive when adjusted for monetary debasement, which saw, in 2020 alone, over 40% of the total USD money supply being printed.

Still, bitcoin’s safe haven credential remains contested by investors.

In several recent risk-off events, it acted less like a hedge and more like a high-beta risk asset against the Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1 ETF.

Covid-19 (March 2020): BTC fell 40% vs QQQ’s 27%

Bank crisis (March 2023): BTC -14%, QQQ -7%

Yen carry trade unwind (Aug 2024): BTC -20%, QQQ -6%

Tariff-led selloff (April 2025): BTC -11%, QQQ -16%

The first three examples show bitcoin as a kind of leveraged tech trade. But the most recent tariff shock broke the pattern — bitcoin dropped less than the Nasdaq, showing relative strength in an otherwise weak macro environment spurred by President Trump’s tariffs.

While these data points may not make a trend, this evolving behavior highlights a broader phenomenon: the global financial backdrop has changed.

“Non-sovereign stores of value, like bitcoin, should do well,» said NYDIG Research in a note. «Politically neutral assets should be exempt from the global machinations at play right now.”

Bitcoin is volatile, yes, but it is also globally liquid, decentralized, censorship-resistant, and immune to tariffs or central bank policy. In an era of geopolitical tension and financial repression, those attributes start to make the asset look more enduring than other safe havens.

Meanwhile, traditional safe havens aren’t looking so safe. Gold’s gains look less impressive when weighed against the scale of monetary expansion. Long-duration bonds aren’t faring much better either as the 30-year treasury yield approaches 5%, making them painful for duration-heavy portfolios.

Since the sell-off began last Thursday, the Nasdaq has dropped nearly 10%, bitcoin is down 6%, TLT has fallen over 4%, and gold has slipped more than 3%. Meanwhile, the DXY index — which tracks the U.S. dollar against a basket of foreign currencies — remains relatively flat, while the all-important U.S. 10-year Treasury yield has surged nearly 8%.

On a risk-adjusted basis, bitcoin is holding its ground—performing no worse than traditional safe-haven assets like gold or TLT.

Looking at these four major crisis events, a pattern emerges: : each sell-off in bitcoin has marked a significant long-term bottom. During the COVID crash, BTC dropped to ~$4,000 — a level never seen again. In the March 2023 banking crisis, it briefly fell below $20,000 before resuming its climb. The August 2024 yen carry trade unwind brought it down to $49,000 — again, a level that hasn’t returned. If history is any guide, wherever this current low takes us, it may well establish the next long-term floor.

So, is Bitcoin a safe haven?

If the old framing — low volatility and downside protection during a panic — still holds, then BTC falls short.

But in a financial world dominated by sovereign risk, inflation, and constant policy uncertainty, bitcoin starts to look more like an asset that investors might need to consider for durability, neutrality and liquidity.

In this evolving landscape, maybe bitcoin isn’t failing the safe haven test. Maybe the old playbook of what safe haven is, needs to change.