Trump’s upcoming crypto summit is in focus. Here are catalysts that could refuel bitcoin’s rally.
- March 5, 2025
- Category:

Welcome back to Distributed Ledger. This is Frances Yue, crypto reporter at MarketWatch.
President Donald Trump will host his first White House crypto summit this Friday. However, it may not be enough to lift up bitcoin’s price, which has struggled lately as concerns around tariffs weigh on all risk assets, some analysts noted.
Most Read from MarketWatch
Bitcoin BTCUSD climbed above $94,000 last Sunday, after Trump said his proposed crypto reserve would include not only bitcoin and ether ETHUSD but also XRP XRPUSD, solana SOLUSD and cardano ADAUSD. However, the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization erased all its gains one day later and tumbled below $83,000 on Tuesday. It rebounded to trade near $90,000 on Wednesday, albeit still more than 17% off its record high at $109,225 reached on Jan. 20, the day of Trump’s inauguration.
Bitcoin has been trading mostly in lockstep with stocks for the past few days, though many bitcoin bulls hope the crypto will eventually been seen as a store-of-value asset.
For bitcoin to potentially resume its rally, investors will first need to see market sentiment stabilize, according to Alex Tapscott, managing director and portfolio manager at Canadian alternative investment manager Ninepoint Partners. Investors have been selling risk assets and seeking safe havens amid worries that Trump’s tariff plans might lead to a reheating of inflation, which may hinder the Federal Reserve from cutting its key interest rate this year.
“From time to time, I can see a scenario where the stock market is flat while bitcoin is doing very well. I cannot see a scenario where the stock market is crashing and bitcoin is doing well,” Tapscott said.
U.S. stocks ended sharply higher on Wednesday after Trump said he would grant a one-month exemption from new tariffs on automobile imports from Mexico and Canada.
Meanwhile, while crypto investors had celebrated Trump’s executive order setting up a crypto working group — which is expected to propose a federal regulatory framework governing the issuance and operation of digital assets — they are still waiting for concrete legislation.
Such legislation, if it materializes, may heighten institutional adoption, which could serve as the real catalyst for crypto’s next rally, noted Tapscott.