Bitcoin Stays Strong as Nasdaq Suffers One of Its Worst Days Since 2000
While U.S. equities reeled from a major sell-off sparked by President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff announcement, bitcoin (BTC) displayed surprising resilience, holding firm above key technical levels and even gaining ground.
On Thursday, the Nasdaq Composite plunged 5.5%, marking one of its steepest single-day losses since the early 2000s. According to Investing.com, this drop lands just outside the 20 worst trading days for the index since the dot-com bubble and 2008 financial crisis. The S&P 500 wasn’t spared, shedding nearly 5% in the same session.
In stark contrast, bitcoin defied the trend. Though it initially dipped during the post-announcement reaction while U.S. markets were closed, BTC rebounded with a 0.7% gain on Thursday, continuing its upward momentum into Friday. Glassnode data shows BTC currently trading above $84,000, recovering from the sub-$82,000 dip following the tariff news — though still below the pre-announcement level near $87,000.
Meanwhile, Nasdaq futures remain under pressure ahead of the key U.S. nonfarm payrolls report due later Friday.
From a performance standpoint, bitcoin is outperforming the Nasdaq in 2025. BTC’s drawdown year-to-date is around 10%, slightly better than the Nasdaq’s 11% decline. The cryptocurrency hit its yearly low of $76,000 in mid-March, while the Nasdaq just printed its lowest levels on Thursday.
Analyst Caleb Franzen highlighted this divergence, pointing out bitcoin’s strength against traditional equity indices.
“It’s pretty remarkable to see that bitcoin is up 3.4% today relative to the S&P 500, particularly in a risk-off environment,” Franzen said in a post on X. “BTC/SPY continues to hold above its 200-day moving average cloud.”
With equities wobbling and traders watching macro headlines closely, bitcoin’s relative strength could be a signal — not just of investor confidence, but possibly a shift in market dynamics favoring digital assets.
