Nasdaq Composite suffers one of its worst days since 2000, while Bitcoin remains stable
Despite the sharp decline in US stocks, Bitcoin has shown surprising resilience, remaining above important technical levels.
James Van Straten | Edited by Sheldon Rebeck Updated April 4, 2025, 8:56 PM Published April 4, 2025, 9:47 AM
What you should know:
- The Nasdaq Composite Index fell nearly 5.5% on Thursday, one of its worst one-day declines since 2000.
- Bitcoin ended the day up 0.7% and climbed to $84,000 on Friday.
- Analyst Caleb Franzen noted Bitcoin's stability against the S&P 500, pointing to support from the 200-day moving average amid declining risk appetite.
The U.S. stock market plunge, triggered by President Donald Trump's announcement Wednesday of global tariffs, sent the Nasdaq Composite index into one of its biggest declines since the early 2000s.
The tech index lost 5.5% on Thursday, nearly matching the 20 worst one-day declines since 2000, according to Investing.com data. Most of those losses occurred during the dot-com bust of 2000-01 and the 2008 financial crisis. Other stock indexes were also hurt, with the S&P 500 falling nearly 5%.
In contrast, the price of Bitcoin (BTC), which typically correlates with U.S. stocks over short timeframes, broke the pattern. The largest cryptocurrency, which fell immediately after the announcement when stock markets were closed, rose 0.7% the following day, and that momentum continued on Friday, according to Glassnode data.
Bitcoin is now trading above $84,000, up from $87,000 before Trump's speech. Nasdaq futures, meanwhile, are down ahead of the U.S. jobs report due later in the day.
Bitcoin hit its 2025 low in mid-March, around $76,000, while the Nasdaq hit its low on Thursday. Year to date, Bitcoin has outperformed the Nasdaq, losing 10% versus the index's 11%.
Analyst Caleb Franzen highlighted Bitcoin's relative strength compared to the S&P 500 amid risk-off sentiment, noting its resilience around its 200-day moving average.
“It's quite remarkable that Bitcoin is up 3.4% versus the S&P 500 today, especially in a risk-off environment. As I recently pointed out, BTC/SPY continues to remain above its 200-day moving average cloud,” Franzen wrote in a post on X.
