Investing.com-- Bitcoin steadied on Thursday after rallying in the previous session, as investors locked in some profit at the seven-week peak, while the token remained supported by signs of easing trade tensions between the U.S. and its key trading partners.
The world’s largest cryptocurrency was marginally higher at $93,550.1 by 5:11 p.m. ET (22:11 GMT).
Bitcoin surged nearly 7% past $94,000 on Wednesday to hit its highest level since early March.
Signals of easing tariff tensions boost risk appetite
The surge on Wednesday came after U.S. President Donald Trump walked back recent threats to remove Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
He also signaled a potential easing of trade tariffs on China, fueling hopes for a more stable economic outlook.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Wednesday that high U.S.-China tariffs are unsustainable, as the Trump administration signaled willingness to ease trade tensions.
The positive sentiment was further supported by media reports showing that Japan’s Economy Minister Ryosei Akazawa will visit Washington from April 30 to May 2 to engage in a second round of tariff negotiations.
These factors improved the global risk appetite, prompting flows into Bitcoin and other risk-sensitive assets.
Bitcoin briefly overtook Google to become 5th largest asset in market value
Bitcoin briefly overtook Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) on Wednesday to become the world’s fifth-largest asset by market capitalization, reaching approximately $1.87 trillion.
This milestone placed Bitcoin ahead of tech giants like Google, Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), and Meta (NASDAQ:META), trailing only gold, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Inc (ETR:AAPL), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), and Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) in global asset rankings.
With Thursday’s dip, it slipped back to the eighth position, below silver.
Crypto campaigners urge Swiss central bank to buy Bitcoin
Cryptocurrency advocates are intensifying efforts to persuade the Swiss National Bank (SNB) to add Bitcoin to its reserves, arguing that U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs have increased global instability and underscored the need for diversification, Reuters reported Thursday.
A referendum campaign launched in December aims to amend the Swiss constitution, requiring the SNB to hold bitcoin alongside gold.
“Holding Bitcoin makes more sense as the world shifts towards a multipolar order, where the dollar and the euro are weakening," Campaigner Luzius Meisser, a board member at Bitcoin Suisse, told Reuters.
Meisser, who is expected to speak at the SNB’s annual general meeting in Bern, argued that Bitcoin could shield the SNB from geopolitical risks tied to its heavy reliance on the dollar and euro. “Politicians eventually give in to the temptation of printing money to fund their plans, but bitcoin is a currency that cannot be inflated through deficit spending,” he said.
Switzerland has become a leading hub for blockchain innovation, with projects like Ethereum originating in the town of Zug, known as "Crypto Valley." A recent study by Lucerne University found that 11% of Swiss residents have invested in crypto assets.
But despite this, the SNB remains concerned about Bitcoin’s volatility, liquidity, and security risks, and it currently holds no digital assets.
Crypto price today: altcoins fall, Polygon surges 17%
Altcoins also declined after experiencing a sharp rally in the previous session amid a broader risk-on mood.
World no.2 crypto Ethereum fell 1.6% to $1,762.59.
World no. 3 crypto XRP declined 0.6% to $2.2033.
Solana gained 0.3%, while Cardano gained 3%.
Meanwhile, Polygon soared more than 14% after introducing the Agglayer Breakout Program to accelerate ecosystem expansion.
Among meme tokens, Dogecoin gained over 1%.
Ayushman Ojha contributed to this report.