Sonny S. Watts Bitcoin surged over 10% in a single day on April 19. The rally came in response to a sudden reversal in U.S. trade policy, announced just hours after President Donald Trump publicly encouraged investors to buy into the market. The sequence of events reminded the historic market recovery in early 2009 under President Barack Obama.
Trump Encouraged To “Buy” Before Before Announcing Tariff Pause
On April 9, President Trump posted on Truth Social: “THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!! DJT.” This came just minutes after he attempted to reassure investors with another post urging them to “BE COOL” and remain confident in the U.S. economy.
At the time of the post, the U.S. stock market had been reeling from a series of broad-based tariffs imposed by the Trump administration at midnight. The tariffs, which targeted imports from over 180 countries, ranged between 10% and 50%, and had erased over $4 trillion from U.S. markets in just three trading days.
Bitcoin, too, had felt the heat. The leading cryptocurrency had fallen nearly 15% in the week leading up to Trump’s post. But within minutes of Trump’s call to buy, Bitcoin began to recover. The price crossed key resistance levels, and sentiment shifted decisively.
Four hours later, Trump announced a 90-day pause on nearly all of the newly implemented tariffs, with the exception of those imposed on China—which were instead increased to 125% in retaliation for Beijing’s response.
BTC Hits $80K Amid Comparisons To Obama-era 2009 Market Recovery
The news jolted markets into a strong recovery. The S&P 500 posted a 9.5% gain—the third-largest single-day increase in its history—while the Nasdaq jumped nearly 12%. Bitcoin, which had already begun rising earlier in the day, closed with a gain of more than 10%, reclaiming the $80,000 mark and restoring over $150 billion in market value.
The market rebound on April 9 is drawing comparisons to the S&P 500’s recovery in early 2009. At that time, the U.S. was emerging from the depths of the financial crisis, and investor confidence was low.
On March 3, 2009, President Barack Obama made a now-famous comment that stocks were becoming a “potentially good deal” for long-term investors. That remark came just days before the S&P 500 hit bottom. This helped launch a four-year bull run during which the index gained over 75%.
This time, Bitcoin may be following a similar trajectory, especially given its recent recovery from macro-driven volatility.
