The global trade war may be a silver lining for Bitcoin’s growing recognition as a safe-haven asset next to gold, thanks to its liquidity and accessibility advantages compared with precious metals.

Financial markets have been rattled since US President Donald Trump’s April 2 reciprocal import tariffs announcement, leading to record-breaking sell-offs for traditional stock markets and a Bitcoin (BTC) correction below $75,000.

While gold remains the dominant refuge for investors during geopolitical stress, analysts say Bitcoin’s digital nature and 24/7 liquidity are helping it attract renewed interest.

“You want to store value in something other than US assets. But you don’t want to own other nations’ currencies/debt/assets because they’re even weaker and you expect they’ll debase it,” said Hunter Horsley, CEO of crypto asset manager Bitwise, in an April 9 post on X.

“You look around, and you see it: an asset that can’t be debased, is controlled by no country, and that you can take into your possession immediately. You wind up buying Bitcoin,” Horsely said.

Source: Hunter Horsley

Despite the growing optimism, gold will likely remain the dominant asset, especially in the near term, Aurelie Barthere, principal research analyst at Nansen crypto intelligence platform told Cointelegraph, adding:

“Bitcoin is promising, but it’s still quite volatile, it could get there gradually. The PBOC has been shedding US Treasury holdings and increasing gold reserves for years. Therefore, I expect this trend to accelerate regardless of the crypto narrative.”

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China’s Finance Ministry on April 9 announced new tariffs of up to 84% on US imports, effective April 10, as a retaliatory measure against Trump’s policy. Analysts say a resolution would reduce uncertainty and reignite appetite for risk assets like crypto.

China’s tariffs come as a retaliatory response to Trump’s tariff plan, which imposed a 34% tariff on Chinese imports, effective April 9.

Some industry analysts see Trump’s global tariff negotiations as mere “posturing” for the US to reach an agreement with China, a development that may end global trade uncertainty and see risk assets such as crypto recover.

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China, Russia reportedly using Bitcoin for settlement

Some nations are already taking steps toward using crypto assets for settlement in global trade.

“China and Russia have reportedly begun settling some energy transactions in Bitcoin and other digital assets,” wrote Matthew Sigel, head of digital assets research at VanEck, in an April 8 note. “These are early signs that Bitcoin is evolving from a speculative asset into a functional monetary tool.”

Sigel noted other examples, including Bolivia’s plans to import electricity using crypto and French utility firm EDF’s exploration of using surplus power to mine Bitcoin.

“These developments reflect a growing interest in neutral settlement rails, especially among economies looking to bypass the US dollar,” he said.

Previous reports also indicated that Russia is using Bitcoin and stablecoin for international oil trade to circumvent global sanctions.

Bitcoin’s evolving “volatility profile” also points to BTC “gradually maturing from a risky asset to a safe-have asset,” wrote André Dragosch, macro analyst and European head of research at Bitwise.

While the tariff uncertainty will continue limiting risk appetite during the negotiations, positive developments could bring renewed investment into crypto markets.

“We’ll start to see the rotation toward the crypto markets in the coming period where there’s more calm and peace in the markets where investors start to buy the dip and understand that some things have been undervalued,” Michaël van de Poppe, founder of MN Consultancy, told Cointelegraph.

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Swiss cryptocurrency fintech Taurus has launched an interbank network that is purpose-built for regulated institutions involved in digital asset operations.

On April 9, Taurus said in an announcement shared with Cointelegraph that it had launched Taurus-Network (TN), an interbank network designed to simplify and improve digital asset transactions between regulated financial institutions worldwide.

The network aims to improve collateral mobility, optimize settlement speed and reduce counterparty risk while benefiting capital and liquidity management in digital assets.

Among the key benefits of the network is the ability for participants to retain full sovereignty over assets, direct interaction with counterparties and automated compliance without third-party intervention, Taurus SA’s head of product infrastructure, Vassili Lavrov, told Cointelegraph.

Multiple banks already involved

The Taurus-Network launches with participation from several banks worldwide, including Arab Bank Switzerland, Capital Union Bank, Flowdesk, ISP Group, Misyon Bank and Swissquote.

According to Lavrov, all of those banks have taken meaningful steps to integrate digital asset capabilities within their operations, with most of them already offering custody of cryptocurrencies to their clients.

“By building on Taurus’ relationships with over 35 banking clients across four continents, the network is positioned to become the default infrastructure layer for compliant, high-trust digital asset activity,” he said.

A blockchain-agnostic network

As Taurus expects to tap major global regulated financial institutions for its network, the firm ensures that interoperability is among its core strengths.

Taurus-Network is blockchain-agnostic and supports both public and permissioned distributed ledger technologies, Lavrov said, adding:

“It’s engineered to enable seamless interaction across different digital asset types, whether cryptocurrencies, tokenized securities, or digital currencies.”

He added that the network is designed to interoperate across public and permissioned blockchains, so institutions “aren’t locked into one system.”

This is a developing story, and further information will be added as it becomes available.

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As more institutions explore blockchain-based finance, some industry leaders say tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) may surpass $30 trillion by the 2030s. Others are casting doubt on that projection.

In June 2024, Standard Chartered Bank and Synpulse predicted that RWAs may reach over $30 trillion by 2034. The narrative remained strong in the latter part of 2024, with some analysts expressing similar sentiments.

At Paris Blockchain Week 2025, a panel moderated by Cointelegraph’s managing editor, Gareth Jenkinson, brought together executives from across the tokenization ecosystem to discuss the future of RWAs. Participants included Charles Adkins of Hedera, Dotun Rominiyi from the London Stock Exchange, Shy Datika of INX, Steven Gaertner of Tiamonds and Securitize chief operating officer Michael Sonnenshein.

While the majority supported the $30 trillion estimate, Sonnenshein expressed skepticism.

The Truth Behind Tokenization and RWA panel. Source: Paris Blockchain Week

Securitize exec predicts a more conservative trajectory for RWAs

Sonnenshein, a former CEO of Grayscale Investments, said tokenized assets may not reach the $30 trillion mark. He argued that there are many “good systems” in place that already work for traditional assets:

“I have to just say, at the moment there obviously are some really good systems in place that allow some of these assets to trade. So, just because it can be tokenized doesn’t mean that it should be. And so, I’ll take the under on the $30 trillion number.”

Despite being an outlier in his predictions, Sonnenshein said he’s still bullish on RWAs, adding that his sentiment “doesn’t mean that tokenization isn’t here to stay.” 

Sonnenshein said that the space will still see a major explosion of investors who will see their wallets as not just a place for crypto speculation but also a “place that actually houses investments of theirs the way their brokerage accounts or investment accounts would as well.”

Related: BlackRock’s BUIDL expands to Solana as tokenized money market fund nears $2B

Tokenization doesn’t “translate well” to representing real estate ownership

Sonnenshein also questioned the viability of real estate as a primary use case for RWAs.

In the United Arab Emirates, government agencies have made moves to link tokenization with real estate. In January, local real estate developer Damac signed a $1 billion deal with RWA blockchain Mantra to tokenize real estate in the UAE. 

While some put their money on tokenized real estate, Sonnenshein cast doubt on the idea. “I’ll be the controversial one up here and just say I don’t think tokenization should have its eyes directly set on real estate,” he said during the panel. 

While the executive recognized the benefits of tokenizing real estate, he argued that this doesn’t translate well to representing ownership. 

“I’m sure there are all kinds of efficiencies that can be unlocked using blockchain technology to eliminate middlemen and escrow and all kinds of things in real estate. But I think today, what the onchain economy is demanding are more liquid assets,” he added. 

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