Mounting international trade tensions are rattling cryptocurrency markets — but they could also accelerate institutional crypto adoption, several industry executives told Cointelegraph.
Since US President Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs on US imports on April 2, core cryptocurrencies experienced double-digit price swings, worsening an ongoing market rout starting earlier this year.
However, “[t]he silver lining is that economic uncertainty has historically accelerated institutional interest in digital assets as a diversification strategy,” David Siemer, co-founder and CEO of Wave Digital Assets, told Cointelegraph.
Bitcoin has already shown “signs of resilience” amid the market turbulence, underscoring the cryptocurrency’s potential as a hedge against geopolitical disruption, according to an April 7 Binance report.
Now, “[a]s traditional banking channels become entangled in geopolitical tensions, we’re witnessing increased demand for blockchain-based settlement solutions that operate outside conventional correspondent banking networks,” Siemer said.
Bitcoin and the