Bitcoin Thrives While U.S. Economy Takes a Nosedive: Chaos Ensues!

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Right, so the U.S. economy is basically having a full-on Bridget Jones moment—tears, chocolate, and all. 🍫😭 Meanwhile, Bitcoin and its crypto mates are out there living their best lives, like they’ve just discovered yoga and green smoothies. 🧘‍♂️💚

What to know:

  • U.S.-China trade tensions and inflation concerns are causing traditional markets to lose their collective minds. 🤯
  • Consumer sentiment in the U.S. has plummeted faster than Bridget’s New Year’s resolutions. The University of Michigan survey says inflation expectations are the highest since 1981—basically, the year leg warmers were cool. 🕺
  • Investors are ditching U.S. government bonds and dollars like they’re last season’s fashion. Meanwhile, gold and cryptocurrencies are having a moment. Bitcoin is up 4% at $82,000, and altcoins like SOL and AVAX are strutting their stuff with 6% gains. 💃

Traditional U.S. assets are in complete disarray, thanks to U.S.-China trade tensions and the latest data showing consumer sentiment is in the gutter. Inflation concerns? Oh, they’re mounting faster than Bridget’s calorie count after a bad day. 📈🍰

The University of Michigan survey, published on Friday, revealed that consumer sentiment has dropped to 50.8 from 57.0. That’s near the most depressed level in three years—worse than during the 2020 Covid shutdowns. Year-ahead inflation expectations have surged to 6.7%, up from 5% last month and the highest since 1981. 🚨

Investors are selling long-term U.S. government bonds and the greenback, which are usually considered safe havens. The 10-year Treasury yield soared above 4.55%, up more than 50 basis points in just a week. The dollar index (DXY) sank below 100 to a three-year low. Gold, however, hit a fresh record of $3,240 per ounce. 🏆

U.S. stocks were trading in a tighter range on Friday after a wildly volatile week. The Nasdaq was up 0.6% at press time. Meanwhile, cryptocurrency markets were on the rise, with Bitcoin holding just above $82,000, up 4% over the past 24 hours. The CoinDesk 20 Index was up 3%, with altcoins SOL and AVAX leading the charge with 6% gains. 🚀

Signal or noise?

Some macroeconomic analysts are freaking out, thinking the surge in government bond yields is a threat to the U.S. economy. Others think investors are overreacting to short-term market swings. 🤷‍♀️

“U.S. dollars and U.S. government debt, two of the market’s most liquid safe havens, are going haywire,” said Noelle Achison, analyst and author of the Crypto is Macro Now newsletter. “This is not the case for other safe havens, however, just those directly tied to the U.S.”

Billionaire investor Bill Ackman chimed in on X, saying, “I believe that it is much more likely that recent sharp moves in these asset classes is due to highly leveraged market participants being forced out of positions than due to fundamentals.”

“Technical factors are driving the dramatic market moves,” Ackman continued. “As a result, markets have become increasingly unreliable as short-term indicators of the impact of policy changes.”

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2025-04-11 19:45