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Investing.com -- Data released by Mercuryo, a global payments infrastructure platform, shows that traders have been increasingly seeking the relative safety of Bitcoin (BitfinexUSD) and stablecoins in the wake of sweeping tariffs from U.S. President Donald Trump, which have sparked fears of a global economic trade war and economic downturn.
The cryptocurrency market, which started 2025 on a high note, has seen a shift in sentiment as a global stock market sell-off pushed the S&P 500 into correction territory. This has led to a renewed sense of Fear Uncertainty and Doubt (FUD) among crypto traders.
As a result, the total market capitalization of the cryptocurrency market has fallen 18% in 2025, from $3.25 trillion on 1 January to $2.67 trillion on 3 April as per data from CoinMarketCap.
Greg Waisman, Chief Operating Officer at Mercuryo, commented on the shift in the market. "This year we’ve witnessed a retreat to bitcoin and stablecoins as these assets represent a safe haven in an edgy cryptocurrency market now in the throes of FUD as Trump’s tariffs threaten the global economy," he said.
"Demand for Bitcoin, which is viewed by some as digital gold, has remained robust. Meanwhile, we’ve seen a flight to the sanctuary of stablecoins. Retail mania around meme coins already feels like a distant memory and this is reflected in a significant pullback in the buying of Solana on the Mercuryo platform.”
Despite this downturn, the demand for BTC on the Mercuryo platform has remained strong, even as buying pressure for other cryptocurrencies has decreased. For instance, in the week of 27 January, 2025, BTC purchases increased by 13%, while ETH/USD and SOL/USD saw a decrease of 4% and 10%, respectively.
Similarly, in the week of 24 March, 2025, BTC buying rose by 8%, while ETH purchases saw a week-on-week decline of 20%.
The increased interest in BTC coincides with a decrease in demand for SOL, following a decline in the meme coin mania that was prevalent on the network in 2024 and early 2025. In the week of 24 February, 2025, BTC buying surged by 47%, while SOL saw a modest increase of only 9%.
Stablecoins, such as USDC/USD and USDT/USD, have also seen a surge in interest. The proportion of stablecoins in the weekly transactions on the Mercuryo platform rose from about 37% in January to about 50% in March.