[Perspective] The Turmoil of the Tariff War: Is Bitcoin a Hedge Against the Dollar Crisis?

Tariff War Chaos: Can Bitcoin Hedge Against the Dollar Crisis?

The global tariff war has erupted again; this is not news. However, its ripple effects are shaking our accustomed financial order.

I would like to discuss from the perspective of blockchain how this turmoil is causing the dollar to descend from its pedestal and Bitcoin to become the focus of a new stage, while exploring the role Web3 is ready to play.

Fundamental Contradiction: Hegemony Arises from Deficits, Not Surpluses

There is now a more fundamental question being raised: If the United States truly becomes a trade surplus nation, can the dollar still serve as the world’s currency?

This is a logic that seems paradoxical from the perspective of the Web3 world, akin to trying to use Bitcoin as a stablecoin, which is inherently conflicting.

The dollar sustains global hegemony through “exporting deficits”: the U.S. prints money, and the world pays for it; other countries purchase U.S. debt with dollars, and the U.S. uses this debt as fuel for economic development. However, this game relies on the constant outflow of dollars. If the U.S. begins hoarding dollars and switches to a surplus, the world would ironically face a shortage of dollars and liquidity, leading to a breakdown in demand for U.S. debt and a rapid drying up of U.S. financing.

Raising interest rates and bursting bubbles; not raising rates and crashing bond prices — this is essentially a classic liquidity trap of a DeFi protocol.

Bitcoin Is No Longer a Traitor, But a Backup for the Era

Amid the chaos in the market, Bitcoin quietly rose to $80,000. It did not rise alongside gold but instead has quietly become a “fiat panic index.” Although there has been some outflow of ETF funds in recent weeks, the price remains supported, clearly backed by smart money.

What does this signify? It indicates that Bitcoin has transformed from a “high-volatility speculative asset” to a “decentralized asset combating fiat uncertainty.” Arthur Hayes described Bitcoin as a “financial chaos alarm,” and I completely agree. Web3 is redefining the concept of hedging assets in a new way.

If the Dollar Loses Favor, Is Web3 Prepared?

Many still regard Web3 as a “technological revolution,” but I believe it is more akin to a “currency governance revolution.” As trust in the dollar fractures, it does not mean the world will directly embrace the yuan or euro, as they too bear regulatory burdens and sovereign risks.

Rather, a “multipolar currency + decentralized architecture” is more likely to become mainstream: the dollar steps back, the yuan dominates Asia, the euro locks in Europe, and cross-border transactions utilize gold and stablecoins, with Bitcoin emerging as a globally recognized currency. This resembles a multichain world, where each chain has its own governance logic but connects ecosystems through bridges and standards.

This is also why what I am doing with KryptoGO is never merely about being a better wallet; it is about helping businesses find their anchor in this multichain, multipolar, chaotic era — whether it is stablecoin settlements, compliant onboarding, or identity verification and risk control.

The True Underlying Logic

This tariff war feels like a false signal from the system, telling us that “the old logic is no longer viable.” I do not believe Web3 is the cure for this chaos, but it is likely a new problem-solving logic — no longer relying on a single center, no longer believing in absolute control, but rather constructing a more flexible and resilient currency and trust mechanism.

We are all still in the testing phase, but this chaos provides Web3 with a stress test. And I choose to believe that this is not the beginning of a collapse, but a herald of a new order.