Bitcoin Rebounds 16% Despite Wall Street Sell-Off Post-Tariff Shock

April 2025 saw major macroeconomic shocks driven by US trade policy and global political changes, yet the crypto market showed resilience.

April 2025 saw major macroeconomic shocks, but the crypto market showed surprising resilience. Despite a US tariff war that sparked a global stock market crash and wiped out over $8.5 trillion in market value, Bitcoin managed to post a 16% monthly gain.

The world's largest cryptocurrency decoupled from equities and rebounded strongly to trade at $94,729 by the end of April, marking a 16.16% monthly gain. However, traditional markets remain volatile, with the S&P 500 plunging 12% and the Dow Jones dropping 2,200 points.

While crypto traders appear to have priced in the geopolitical risk, the strong recovery in BTC has reignited expectations of a breakout toward the $100,000 resistance.

Furthermore, Ethereum's blockchain continues to lead in real-world asset (RWA) tokenization, capturing 60% of the total market share, an increase of 20% from the previous month.

According to GrowThePie, the value of RWAs on Ethereum reached $6.2 billion in April, driven by growing institutional adoption. Firms like BlackRock and Franklin Templeton have rolled out tokenized bond and gold pilots, highlighting Ethereum's robust infrastructure.

BlackRock CEO Larry Fink also reaffirmed this stance, stating that Ethereum is the "natural default" for tokenization, given its composability and ecosystem maturity.

In other news, Canada's Liberal Party, known for its crypto-skeptic stance, managed to win the majority of seats in the country's federal elections on April 28. However, the party fell short of securing a full majority, setting the stage for a minority government and potentially complicating the process of passing crypto legislation.

The Liberals, led by former central banker Mark Carney, secured 169 seats, just three less than the majority needed to form a government on their own. This outcome follows a close campaign that saw the Conservative Party, which is more supportive of crypto, perform poorly.

Despite opinion polls that had initially favored the Conservatives and their pro-crypto stance, the Liberals ultimately pulled ahead. The shift in momentum can be attributed to the Conservatives' close association with Trump-era rhetoric, which included suggestions that Canada should become the "51st US state."

This association ultimately proved detrimental to the Conservatives, as voters grew weary of the divisive political discourse and expressed a desire for unity and stability.

Finally, two US states introduced new crypto-related bills in April 2025. In Texas, HB 5352 proposes a Blockchain Technology Pilot Program to evaluate state-level use cases in transparency, efficiency, and security.

In Georgia, HR 905 urges K–12 education institutions to implement blockchain and cryptocurrency literacy programs.

The stablecoin sector also saw strong gains, adding $4 billion in market capitalization.

Key factors driving stablecoin demand include:

The STABLE Act passed a key vote in the US House Financial Services Committee.

The SEC dropped its inquiry into PayPal USD (PYUSD), signaling a softening of regulatory pressure.

Japan continues to lead with a permissive framework for stablecoins and RWAs.

According to data from IntoTheBlock, investors are increasingly viewing stablecoins as safe-haven assets, especially amid macroeconomic and market volatility.