Bitcoin's Volatile Week: Trump's Tariffs and ETF Plans Drive Market Swings

Bitcoin's price trajectory this week was marked by volatility, driven by geopolitical factors and corporate developments. The digital asset's value dipped below $93,000 on Monday, only to rebound later in the week following a change in President Trump's trade tariff stance. The asset's price subsequently hovered between $96,000 to $98,000, closing the week at $96,050, a decline of nearly 6% over seven days.

Investor sentiment towards Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) was mixed throughout the week. On Monday, speculators withdrew $234 million from these funds, but the market saw about $200 million in total inflows by the end of the week. Meanwhile, President Trump's fintech venture, Truth.fi, announced plans to register trademarks for two Bitcoin vehicles: the Truth.Fi Bitcoin Plus ETF and the Truth.Fi Bitcoin Plus SMA.

MicroStrategy, the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, rebranded to Strategy and reported a net loss of $670.8 million in Q4 2024. The company, which has been actively purchasing Bitcoin, did not add to its holdings this week, marking the first time in 12 consecutive weeks that it did not buy more of the digital asset.

President Trump signed an executive order calling for the creation of an American sovereign wealth fund, which could potentially include investments in assets like stocks, bonds, and real estate. While some high-profile Bitcoin advocates, such as Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), expressed hope that this could lead to a Bitcoin stockpile, the idea remains vague and there was no mention of the asset in the executive order.

Speculation surrounding the identity of Bitcoin's creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, resurfaced this week. Coinbase's head of product, Conor Grogan, shared a discovery of on-chain transactions linked to a Satoshi wallet and Cavirtex, a defunct Canadian Bitcoin exchange. This revelation has sparked further discussion and debate within the cryptocurrency community.