Escalating trade tensions and renewed uncertainty in global markets are driving investors toward alternative assets, including Bitcoin and tokenized real-world assets (RWAs), as concerns mount over the long-term stability of the financial system.
Global trade tensions continue pressuring investor sentiment despite US President Donald Trump announcing a 90-day pause on higher reciprocal tariffs on April 9, reverting the tariffs to the 10% baseline for most countries.
At the same time, Trump escalated his tariffs on Chinese goods from 104% to 125%, the Financial Times reported on April 9.
“President Trump’s tariff escalation marks a significant inflection point for global markets,” a move that signals “more than a trade disagreement,” said Teddy Pornprinya, co-founder of Plume — a layer-1 blockchain focused on tokenized real-world assets. He added:
“It exposes deeper fractures in the global monetary system.”
With both the US and China facing what he described