Bitcoin Climbs Amid Trump-Powell Tensions as Stocks and Dollar Falter
Bitcoin (BTC $91,233.29) rose 1% Monday in Hong Kong, bucking the broader market as political tensions between President Donald Trump and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell shook investor confidence. Nasdaq futures fell 0.8%, S&P 500 futures declined 0.5%, and the dollar index slipped to 99.00 from Friday’s 99.26 peak.
BTC briefly reached $92,000 but remained within last week’s $89,000–$95,000 range, according to CoinDesk data. Its divergence from Nasdaq futures suggests growing safe-haven demand, with investors increasingly viewing Bitcoin as a hedge against political and monetary uncertainty. Gold, a traditional safe haven, rose to a record $4,600 per ounce.
The spike in tensions came after Powell disclosed that the Trump administration had threatened him with a criminal indictment over Federal Reserve headquarters renovations. Powell dismissed the threat as politically motivated, aimed at pressuring the Fed to cut interest rates.
Trump has repeatedly criticized the Fed’s cautious approach, calling Powell a “numbskull” and urging more aggressive rate cuts since his 2025 inauguration. He has pushed for rates as low as 1%. The Fed recently lowered rates by 25 basis points to 3.5%, but is expected to hold steady at least until March.
Despite the escalating feud, prediction markets do not anticipate Powell leaving early; his term expires in May. Still, repeated political pressure on central banks during inflationary periods can undermine investor confidence. Turkey’s lira collapse, driven by President Erdogan’s interference in central bank independence, serves as a warning, though the dollar’s global reserve status makes a sharp U.S. currency collapse unlikely.
