Bitcoin's April gains reflect growing hedge appeal in policy stress, Galaxy Digital says

Bitcoin’s solid April performance has caught attention, with Galaxy Digital saying investors are starting to rethink its role in portfolios.

As markets struggled to find direction in April amid fresh tariffs and growing policy concerns, Bitcoin (BTC) quietly climbed 11%, doing better than gold, tech stocks, and even the U.S. dollar, raising new questions about its role in today’s market, analysts at Galaxy Digital wrote in a recent research report.

Galaxy Digital said this may be a sign that investors are beginning to treat Bitcoin “less as a speculative vehicle and more as a strategic, long-duration allocation.”

“The shift is particularly evident when looking at fund flows. U.S.-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs saw $2.9 billion of net inflows in April, a sharp reversal from about $4.4 billion in outflows across February and March.”

Galaxy Digital

In early April, U.S. President Donald Trump announced the so-called “Liberation Day” tariffs, triggering market volatility. While the Nasdaq stayed flat and the Bloomberg Dollar Index fell nearly 4%, gold jumped 5.75% before pulling back. But Bitcoin led the pack with double-digit gains and showed lower volatility than the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100.

Ian Kolman, director & co-portfolio manager at Galaxy Digital says Bitcoin’s supply and demand dynamics are “solidifying its place as a mature digital store of value.” The New York-headquartered firm noted that Bitcoin’s 30-day correlations with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq remain elevated, but its beta has declined, suggesting that while it still moves somewhat with equities, its sensitivity to market stress is fading.

Galaxy Digital suggests these trends reflect “broader recalibration” by investors who are now hedging against “systemic concerns — ranging from political interference in the Federal Reserve to the long-term sustainability of U.S. fiscal policy.”

As of press time, Bitcoin is trading at $102,795, up 9.17% over the past week, per crypto.news’ price tracking page.