Trump Retreats After Bond Market Revolts

When Donald Trump challenges the bond market, it is not just a political confrontation: it is a systemic shock. The American president, driven by an interventionist economic vision, triggered a wave of instability by unsettling the balances of rates and Treasury bonds. Facing him, a relentless market that did not hesitate to react. This showdown, far from trivial, exposes the vulnerabilities of a tense economy and reignites the debate on the reliability of traditional assets during times of uncertainty.

Political Pressure and Market Instability

Donald Trump’s recent attempt to redefine trade relations through new tariffs immediately shook the American bond market. In response to this announcement, investors massively sold Treasury bonds, causing a sharp rise in ten-year yields, which exceeded 4.5 %.

Many observers qualify this sequence as a frontal shock between politics and the market. Saifedean Ammous, a renowned economist, stated on platform X (formerly Twitter) on April 23, 2025 :

Trump fought the bond market, but the bond market won.

This situation reveals more about the limits of political action in front of a market whose reactions are guided by economic logic and risk expectations.

Several key facts help to understand the intensity of this reaction :

• Announcements of new tariffs : Donald Trump revealed his intention to impose new customs duties, especially on Chinese products, which revived protectionist rhetoric ;
• Investor retreat : this initiative was immediately penalized by the markets, as investors reduced their exposure to Treasury bonds out of fear of economic tensions ;
• Rise in bond yields : the ten-year rate of US Treasury bonds crossed the 4.5 % threshold, a clear signal of distrust towards future budget stability ;
• Distrust towards fiscal policy : market participants interpreted these decisions as a potential risk to the trajectory of US public debt.

This volatility indicates a well-known dynamic for observers. When a political actor tries to reshape economic balances without the support of fundamentals, the market reacts strongly. In this specific case, it was the credibility of the United States’ fiscal situation that was briefly questioned, illustrating the close interdependence between politics and finance.

The Strategic Retreat and the Resurgence of Bitcoin as a Safe Haven

Faced with the market’s immediate and negative response, Donald Trump was forced to reconsider his position. He announced a temporary freeze on tariff increases for 90 days.

This move was seen as an attempt to calm financial tensions. However, it was not enough to fully dissipate investors’ worries, and yields remained high in the following days.

This sequence of events reignited discussions about the independence of the Federal Reserve and the credibility of US monetary policy.

In this climate of increased uncertainty, some analysts have mentioned the resurgence of bitcoin as a safe haven. Economist Saifedean Ammous believes that “markets are losing confidence in the United States’ fiscal management” and that this distrust could lead to an inflow of capital into cryptocurrencies.

This hypothesis is based on the idea that bitcoin, as a decentralized asset insensitive to national policies, offers an alternative to traditional investments eroded by monetary instability. This view, although shared by a minority, reflects growing sentiment in some financial circles where even the slightest signs of cracks in the global monetary system are now closely watched.

The continuation of events will depend on several factors: Trump’s ability to formulate a coherent economic strategy, the reaction of the Fed to this political instability, and the perception of risk by international markets. If current tensions persist, institutional actors will likely seek to further diversify their assets. In this context, cryptocurrencies could, once again, appear as a credible alternative.