Dave Portnoy, the outspoken founder of Barstool Sports, posted a simple question on X last week that hit a nerve in the crypto world: “If the point of Bitcoin is to be independent of the U.S. Dollar and nonregulated, why does it basically trade exactly like the U.S. stock market nowadays?”

I have a dumb bitcoin/crypto question. If the point of Bitcoin is to be independent of the US Dollar and non regulated why does it basically trade exactly like the Us stock market nowadays? Market up bitcoin up. Market down bitcoin down.

— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) April 3, 2025

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That one line summed up what a lot of casual investors have been wondering, especially as Bitcoin and crypto stocks took a dive following President Donald Trump's new round of tariffs on Wednesday.

Bitcoin Drops After Tariff News

Bitcoin had been hovering near $88,000 before Trump’s announcement. Not long after the tariff policy was unveiled, it slipped below $83,000. It wasn’t alone. Stocks tanked in after-hours trading, with tech-heavy ETFs like Invesco QQQ (NASDAQ:QQQ) falling 4%.

Crypto-linked stocks also followed the same trend. MicroStrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) dropped 7%, Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) fell 6%, and Robinhood (NASDAQ:HOOD) lost 9%.

So much for being “independent.”

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Why Does Bitcoin Move With Stocks?

Plenty of people chimed in to answer Portnoy's question. Some pointed to institutional involvement, others blamed emotions, and a few leaned on technical analysis.

“Bitcoin trades like a risk asset short term because it’s the most liquid, salable, 24/7 asset on Earth,” said MicroStrategy Executive Chairman Michael Saylor. “In times of panic, traders sell what they can, not what they want to.”

Bitcoin trades like a risk asset short term because it's the most liquid, salable, 24/7 asset on Earth. In times of panic, traders sell what they can, not what they want to. Doesn't mean it's correlated long-term—just means it's always available.

— Michael Saylor (@saylor) April 4, 2025

And then there’s plain logic. “If you needed to pay rent what are you selling first? Apple stock or your crypto bags?” one user wrote.

Another replied, “Boom. When you realize big money has already hijacked bitcoin and it's no different than the stock market anymore.”

Others got sarcastic: “Day 1 of the bear market: Portnoy discovers what correlation means.” And: “It used to be a currency before it was hijacked and turned into a collectible.” Prominent analyst Benjamin Cowen also piled on, saying, “How can you be your age and write something like that?”

Some users defended Bitcoin’s original intent. “Traders are the froth. Hodlers are the floor,” one said. Another added, “Bitcoin is the best-performing asset over the last 15 years.”

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Tariffs, Inflation, and Market Fear

This latest Bitcoin drop didn’t come out of nowhere. Wall Street was already reeling from inflation data and weak consumer sentiment. On Friday, a few days before “Liberation Day,” The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell over 700 points, the S&P 500 slid 2%, and the Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) lost nearly 3%.

Then came Trump's tariff announcement, renewing trade war fears. The Atlanta Fed’s GDPNow forecast now shows a 2.8% GDP decline for Q1, up from -3.7% on April 1.

While Bitcoin has shown some resilience compared to stocks, it's still moving in the same direction when fear hits.

Could Bitcoin Break Away?

Some still believe in one of Bitcoin's original promises: a decentralized hedge against economic chaos. But for now, most agree that Bitcoin is still a risk-on asset, and it trades like one.

As Portnoy pointed out, it looks more and more like just another part of the system it was meant to replace—”Market up, bitcoin up. Market down, bitcoin down.” Or, as Ross Gerber, CEO of Gerber Kawasaki, said, “BTC price movements are related to sentiment. Risk on, up. Risk off, down.”

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