Investing.com-- Bitcoin traded flat on Monday after steady buying into spot exchange-traded funds helped spark a strong rebound over the past week, even as markets remained on edge over U.S.-China trade uncertainty.
The world’s largest cryptocurrency surged over 11% in the past week, rebounding sharply from early April lows amid a broader recovery in global risk-driven markets. But this recovery now appeared to be running out of steam, especially amid mixed signals on U.S.-China trade talks and a worsening tariff exchange.
Bitcoin was little changed at $94,083.0 by 10:01 ET (14:01 GMT). The crypto remained close to a two-month high of $95,000 hit last week, although trading volume s
Bitcoin buoyed by bumper ETF inflows
Bitcoin’s recent gains were driven chiefly by increased buying into U.S.-listed spot ETFs, which surged to $3.06 billion last week, according to data from sosovalue. Inflows were also at their highest level since November.
While the immediate drivers of the inflows were unclear, gains in Bitcoin largely outpaced those seen in other risk-driven markets, especially stocks. The S&P 500 benchmark added about 5.6% in the past week, while the IXIC added 8.3%.
While Bitcoin does appear to be relatively insulated from disruptions in global trade, due to its decentralized nature, the crypto has historically struggled to perform as a safe haven asset. Traditional safe havens such as gold, the Japanese yen, and the Swiss Franc, have fared much better than Bitcoin so far in 2025.
Bitcoin in turn has moved largely in lockstep with equity markets, especially technology stocks.
Bitcoin to hit fresh record high in Q2: StanChart
Standard Chartered (LON:STAN) expects Bitcoin to hit a new all-time high in the second quarter of 2025, driven by a shift away from U.S. assets and a range of supportive signals.
“We expect a strategic asset reallocation away from U.S. assets to trigger the next sharp upswing in Bitcoin (BTC) in the coming months,” said Geoff Kendrick, Global Head of Digital Assets Research at the bank.
Bitcoin, currently trading near $95,000, is projected to reach $120,000 this quarter and potentially $200,000 by year-end.
The bank highlights a surge in the U.S. Treasury term premium, now at a 12-year high, as well as ETF flows showing rotation from gold to Bitcoin.
Bitcoin "whales"—holders with over 1,000 BTC—have also increased accumulation during recent market dips. The whales were also strong Bitcoin buyers during previous periods of sharp gains, such as Trump’s victory in the election and the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs.
Strategy continues with Bitcoin purchases
Meanwhile, Michael Saylor’s Strategy expanded its Bitcoin holdings by 15,355 BTC last week, investing approximately $1.42 billion at an average price of $92,737 per coin, according to a regulatory filing on Monday.
With this latest addition, the company now holds a total of 553,555 BTC, valued at over $52 billion based on Bitcoin’s current price slightly above $95,000. The average cost across its entire position stands at $64,459 per bitcoin.
Swiss National Bank rejects call to add Bitcoin to reserves
Swiss National Bank President Martin Schlegel on Friday rejected recent calls that the central bank hold a portion of its reserves in Bitcoin.
Schlegel cited concerns over the volatile nature of crypto, especially in the case of fluctuating market liquidity in the time of market crises.
“Cryptocurrencies also are known for their high volatility, which is a risk for long term value preservation… cryptocurrencies for the moment do not fulfill the high requirements for our currency reserves,” Schlegel said at the central bank’s shareholder meeting on Friday.
Schlegel’s comments mirror anti-crypto stances among several other major central banks, who have largely rejected proposals touting Bitcoin as a reserve asset.
Crypto price today: altcoins also muted
Broader crypto prices largely tracked Bitcoin’s underwhelming performance after registering strong gains over the past week.
World no.2 crypto Ether fell 0.8% to $1,785.13, while XRP added 2.5% to $2.28.
Solana slipped 0.7% while Cardano climbed 1.4%. The former recently benefited from increased on-chain activity around $TRUMP, which soared in value last week. It added 0.6% today.
$TRUMP’s gains were driven chiefly by U.S. President Donald Trump promising a dinner for the memcoin’s biggest holders.
Among other memcoins, Dogecoin fell 2.6%.
Ambar Warrick contributed to this report.