President Donald Trump acknowledged Thursday that his tariff policy changes will be problematic but said he pursued them because no one else had taken the issues on. 

Speaking at a Cabinet meeting, Trump defended the shift in trade strategy as a necessary correction, despite short-term pain. “The transition is difficult, but the end result will be positive,” he said, according to a CNBC livestream. 

Trump is not ruling out extending the 90-day pause on his “reciprocal” tariffs. During a Cabinet meeting, he stated that if he cannot secure favorable deals with U.S. trading partners, tariffs will revert to higher rates after the pause. 

When asked about extending the pause, he replied, “We’ll have to see what happens,” according to CNBC. 

The major U.S. stock market indices closed lower today, with the S&P 500 down 3.46%, the Nasdaq falling 4.31%, and the Dow decreasing by 2.50%. 

Bitcoin (BTC) gave up some of its gains from April 9 and is trading at $79,800. Overall, it was a challenging day for investors across the board.

COVID-like economic conditions 

The remarks came as economic anxiety rises among U.S. monetary policymakers. Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Austan Goolsbee expressed concern about a return to economic conditions seen during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Citing a loss of confidence and growing anxiety within the district, Goolsbee warned that setbacks in sentiment could create broader risks for the economy.

A Wall Street Journal report added further context to Trump’s trade approach, revealing that the former president had previously accepted the risk of a shallow recession in order to avoid a deeper depression. 

However, amid market volatility and a sharp rise in Treasury yields, Trump reversed course on some tariffs. 

The decision, influenced by collapsing bond markets and advice from National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, helped spur a market rebound on April 9. The S&P 500 posted its strongest single-day gain since 2008. 

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reportedly played a significant role in coordinating the policy shift.

Popular crypto analyst Benjamin Cowen thinks Ethereum (ETH) is mimicking its 2019 cycle.

In a new YouTube video, Cowen tells his 891,000 subscribers that ETH’s recent price points look like a 10x reflection of what it tracked six years ago.

“Ethereum’s going through the same structure that it went through in 2019, but the reason why the cycle feels so different is because it has taken place over a much longer period of time. But there’s a reason why it’s taking place over a much longer period of time, and the reason is that quantitative tightening has lasted a lot longer. Remember last cycle, QT ended in the pre-halving year. We’re now not that far from being halfway through the post-halving year and QT still hasn’t ended, but it probably will within the next few months.” 

Quantitative tightening (QT) is when central banks shrink their budgets to reduce the amount of money circulation in the economy as a means of countering inflation.

Cowen says a document summarizing a Federal Open Market Committee meeting in January suggests the U.S. Federal Reserve might end QT by mid-2025.

Ethereum is trading at $1,652 at time of writing. The second-ranked crypto asset by market cap is up nearly 12% in the past 24 hours.

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A Bitcoin-denominated life insurance firm regulated by the Bermuda Monetary Authority called meanwhile has secured $40 million in a Series A funding round.

The company, whose pioneering product is a Bitcoin (BTC) denominated Whole Life Insurance, announced it raised the funding in a round co-led by venture capital firms fulgur.ventures and Framework Ventures.

Fulgur.ventures is a BTC-focused VC, while Framework Ventures is a leading investor in decentralized finance and crypto-native funds. Meanwhile also attracted participation from Wences Casares, a Bitcoin pioneer and co-founder of Bitcoin-enabled Xapo Bank.

The company, founded three years ago, will use the capital injection to accelerate the global rollout of its BTC-denominated life insurance and annuities. It aims to bring its insurance offerings to millions of users, with products designed to protect against various risks.

“Everyone deserves access to financial products that maintain their value over time—especially for long-term planning and family protection. This funding empowers us to reach more people who are concerned about political risk, currency risk, inflation risk, or regime risk,” the firm wrote on X.

The Bitcoin-denominated insurance product provides features that traditional financial products do not. It includes protection from currency debasement, as well as tax advantages and on-demand liquidity.

“One impossible task was creating a globally unique life insurer entirely denominated in Bitcoin,” said Zac Townsend, founder of meanwhile. “We accept premiums, pay claims, and conduct our audited financials, reserves, and solvency calculations entirely in Bitcoin”

For Bitcoin holders, the company’s insurance policies go beyond the preservation of wealth for future generations. Policyholders gain exposure to Bitcoin’s long-term growth potential.

Meanwhile previously raised $20.5 million in its seed round, which attracted backing from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley, among others.