Bitcoin’s ascent gathered fresh momentum on Tuesday, charging above the $94,000 mark and extending the gains to 26% since April 9. Three interlocking forces—geopolitics, strategic balance-sheet demand, and resurgent exchange-traded-fund flows—coalesced over the past 24 hours to ignite the rally.
Why Is Bitcoin Up Today?
The first spark came from Washington, where US President Donald Trump signaled a partial détente in his long-running tariff dispute with Beijing. Sitting behind the lectern at the White House, Trump declared that duties on Chinese imports “will come down substantially, but it won’t be zero,” before insisting he would “be very nice to China” so long as both sides reach a deal.
Macro economist Alex Krüger distilled the president’s remarks in a widely circulated X post, noting that Trump had “just ticked most de-escalation / bullish boxes.” Among the verbatim phrases Krüger highlighted were: “Tariff on China will not be as high as 145%,” “It’ll come down substantially,” and, when asked whether he would “play hardball,” the president’s succinct “No.”
Equity indices responded immediately, but Bitcoin’s move was more dramatic, underscoring the market’s sensitivity to macro uncertainty—and to any sign that the Federal Reserve’s path could tilt more dovish should trade frictions ebb.
While geopolitics set the tone, a second catalyst arrived from Wall Street: the prospect of a multibillion-dollar balance-sheet bid for Bitcoin spearheaded by the next generation of the Lutnick family. According to the Financial Times, Brandon Lutnick—the newly installed chair of Cantor Fitzgerald and son of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick—is forming “Cantor Equity Partners” in concert with SoftBank, Tether, and Bitfinex.
The consortium plans to seed a new entity, 21 Capital, with approximately $3 billion in Bitcoin. Tether intends to contribute $1.5 billion worth of the asset, SoftBank about $900 million, and Bitfinex roughly $600 million, the report said, cautioning that the numbers could still shift before a formal announcement expected in the coming weeks.
On X, Texas Bitcoin Foundation board member Tuur Demeester framed the implications bluntly: “This announcement could explain why bitcoin is up 12% in the past week.”
The third leg of support arrived from the US spot Bitcoin ETF market, where inflows swung decisively back into positive territory. Data compiled across issuers show aggregate net inflows of $911.2 million on Tuesday—the most forceful daily total since January 17, when pre-inauguration optimism around Trump’s “crypto president” rhetoric produced $975.6 million.
Fidelity’s FBTC absorbed $253.8 million, Ark Invest’s ARKB attracted $267.1 million, and BlackRock’s market-leading IBIT added $192.1 million, while the smaller Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) reversed weeks of redemptions with a $65.1 million intake.
The turnaround began Monday, when the cohort drew $381 million—ending a multi-week stretch dominated by outflows—and gathered pace as Bitcoin cleared the $90,000 threshold. The two-day, $1.29 billion surge signals a material revival of institutional appetite.
At press time, BTC traded at $94,212.
