BlockByte Weekly - Gold & Bitcoin Resilient, Trump's Backpedal & Bond Yields Soar

Hi Reader,

Thanks for reading The BlockByte Weekly, where we summarise the key updates in crypto over the last week and provide our perspective on what you need to know as an investor.
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Executive Summary​
​It’s been a volatile week for crypto markets, echoing the 1987 Black Monday crash when stocks plummeted over 20%. A U.S. announcement of a 10% baseline tariff on all imports sparked a sharp sell-off, with Bitcoin dropping -5%, Ethereum -11%, and Solana -10% at the week’s open. Midweek, U.S.-China trade tensions escalated as tariffs on Chinese goods surged from 20% to 145%, met by China’s retaliatory 84% duties. Markets flipped late Friday as the Trump administration paused tariffs on key Chinese tech exports—smartphones, computers, semiconductors, memory chips, flat panel displays, and other electronics—easing fears of supply chain disruptions. Crypto rebounded strongly, with Solana leading at +28%, and all top five cryptocurrencies ending the week in positive territory. Gold continues to make all-time highs week on week, investors can get direct exposure through the PAXG gold token.​
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Market Update

Rollercoaster Week: Black Monday To Tariff Pause

In what was compared to the 1987 "black Monday" where stocks fell more than 20% in a single day, crypto markets fell at the opening of the week following the announcement of a 10% baseline tariff on all countries. Bitcoin fell by more than -5%, Ethereum -11% and Solana by -10%. After a brief rebound on Tuesday, Wednesday to Friday saw a significant escalation of tariffs between both the US and China from 20% to 34%, to 125% and to 145% currently.

Over the weekend, news has flipped the market once again as the Trump administration will backpedal on part of its China tariff strategy, fearing it would impact its major tech companies too significantly. Markets rose on the news, as the US will no longer impose tariffs on China for the following exports:

• Smartphones
• Computers and laptops
• Semiconductors and related equipment
• Memory chips
• Flat panel displays
• Other electronics

All 5 of the biggest market cap cryptocurrencies were negative at some point in the week before ending higher today, with Solana the outperformer at +28% for the week.

A Crazy Week For Bond Investors as Treasuries No Longer the Safe Haven

This week also saw rising yields for 10-Year US bonds. Bond yields rise when there is falling demand (less buyers of US debt, or investors selling existing US debt). As prices of bonds fall, the interest required to entice someone to buy bonds rises. China has been a major seller of US bonds in recent years as it looks to move away from the dollar and also strengthen its own currency, the Yuan (CNY). Rising interest rates are bad news for the US economy as it pushes borrowing costs higher and slows economic growth. We believe Trump's tariff pause and de-escalation of specific tariffs with China is due to the pressure that rising bond yields have on the US and global economy.

Gold Surges to New All-time Highs

Gold prices soared more than 8.5% for the week to record levels, climbing above $3,236 per ounce, as global investors prefer the precious metal over any fiat backed government bonds and currencies. The escalating U.S / China trade tensions and a weakening dollar have led to gold climbing more than 38% over the last 12 months. Gold’s surge underscores its longstanding role as a hedge against uncertainty. Whilst bitcoin is called digital gold, the precious metal has outperformed its digital counterpart with bitcoin up 16% vs. gold's 38% over the last 12 months. Investors looking to get gold exposure can also buy the PAXG token which is redeemable for physical gold and closely tracks the gold price.

Looking ahead at tomorrow, the future market appear to be indicating the market will open higher, whether it stays that way for the course of the day remains to be seen. We are focusing on core lower risk holdings for the time being (gold & bitcoin).

Until next week,
James

James Brannan
Managing Director
BlockByte
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(+61) 412 393 634
​james@blockbyte.com.au​
​https://blockbyte.com.au/​

BlockByte does not provide financial advice. We provide a personalised brokerage service with tailored support, research and secure custody for investing in digital assets. Reach out to our team to discuss how we can help.

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