Bitcoin closed April 30, 2020, at approximately $8,658, capping off a remarkable month that saw the leading cryptocurrency rally over 36% amid a global economic reckoning triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. With the third Bitcoin halving just days away and billionaire macro investor Paul Tudor Jones publicly endorsing bitcoin as the best inflation trade available, the stage was set for a transformative period in digital asset history.
TL;DR
- Bitcoin rallied 36.12% in April 2020, closing near $8,658
- Paul Tudor Jones called bitcoin the best inflation trade and allocated roughly 1% of his portfolio to BTC futures
- The third Bitcoin halving was scheduled for May 11, 2020, reducing mining rewards from 12.5 to 6.25 BTC
- Total crypto market cap surged approximately $35 billion in 24 hours, led by bitcoin’s momentum
- Unprecedented fiscal stimulus worldwide — trillions from the US, $500B from China, and a planned €750B from the EU — fueled inflation fears
April Recovery Gains Momentum
After a devastating March that saw bitcoin crash below $4,000 during the global COVID-19 liquidation event, April told a very different story. Bitcoin began the month trading in a choppy range between $6,500 and $7,500, according to Galaxy Digital’s April market commentary. The final ten days of April, however, saw a decisive breakout toward $9,000 as unlevered buyers entered the market.
The Bloomberg Galaxy Crypto Index (BGCI), which tracks the broader digital asset market, returned 35.85% for the month — nearly matching bitcoin’s own 36.12% gain. This suggested that the recovery was broad-based, not confined to BTC alone.
Despite the strong April performance, bitcoin remained approximately 30% below its February 2020 highs as of April 30. The BTC-S&P 500 Pearson correlation coefficient had spiked to 0.5 during the March sell-off, challenging the narrative of bitcoin as an uncorrelated safe haven.
Paul Tudor Jones Makes the Call
Perhaps the most significant development of late April was legendary macro investor Paul Tudor Jones publicly declaring bitcoin as the best inflation trade available. In a letter to clients titled “The Great Monetary Inflation,” Jones compared the current monetary expansion to historical episodes and concluded that bitcoin offered unique protection against currency debasement.
Jones confirmed that Tudor Investment Corporation’s BVI fund would trade bitcoin futures, allocating approximately 1% of assets to the cryptocurrency. The endorsement from one of Wall Street’s most respected macro traders sent shockwaves through both traditional and digital asset markets.
As Jones noted at the time, bitcoin’s fixed supply of 21 million coins stood in stark contrast to the unprecedented money printing being undertaken by central banks worldwide. The US Congress had authorized trillions in pandemic stimulus, China announced a $500 billion fiscal package, and EU leaders were working on borrowing €750 billion from public markets.
The Halving Approaches
The upcoming Bitcoin halving, scheduled for May 11, 2020, added another layer of bullish sentiment. The event would reduce the block reward from 12.5 BTC to 6.25 BTC, effectively cutting the rate of new bitcoin creation in half. Analyst PlanB’s stock-to-flow model, which had gained significant traction in the crypto community, suggested that BTC could reach $100,000 within 18 months following the halving.
More conservative estimates from Bloomberg analysts predicted bitcoin could revisit its all-time high of $20,000 before the end of 2020. The combination of supply reduction and growing institutional interest created a compelling narrative for the months ahead.
Stimulus Checks Flow Into Bitcoin
In a telling sign of retail sentiment, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong reported a notable increase in $1,200 deposits on the exchange — matching the exact amount of US government stimulus checks distributed to approximately 80 million Americans. This suggested that some citizens were choosing to park their stimulus funds in bitcoin rather than spending them on immediate needs.
The exchange itself experienced infrastructure strain during the April rally, with Coinbase becoming temporarily inaccessible due to a 5x traffic increase in under four minutes. Similar outages during previous Bitcoin bull runs had preceded extended upward price movements.
Why This Matters
April 30, 2020, marked a pivotal inflection point for bitcoin. The combination of Paul Tudor Jones’ institutional endorsement, the approaching halving, and unprecedented global monetary expansion created a perfect storm for BTC adoption. While the COVID-19 pandemic initially challenged bitcoin’s safe haven narrative, the aggressive fiscal and monetary policy response effectively validated the core thesis of cryptocurrency as a hedge against fiat currency debasement. The events of late April 2020 would set the stage for bitcoin’s eventual run to $64,000 in the months that followed.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Always conduct your own research before making investment decisions.
PTJ allocating 1pct of his portfolio to BTC futures at 8658 was the first real institutional signal. everyone remembers the price but not how much conviction it took
PTJ calling BTC the best inflation trade was the moment institutions started taking it seriously. 1% of his portfolio in futures was a massive signal
ptj_fan_ that 1% allocation from Tudor Jones was roughly $200M+ in BTC futures. for a macro legend to even touch crypto was the ultimate signal
ptj_fan_ Tudor Jones moving first gave every other CIO cover. you could almost trace the institutional wave starting from that one call
36% rally in April alone after the march crash. the stimulus money had to go somewhere and BTC absorbed a lot of it
Katrin the March crash to sub-$4K wiped out so many leveraged longs. the 36% April recovery was mostly short squeezes and stimulus checks hitting accounts
PTJ said best inflation trade and people still debated whether BTC was legit. that 1 percent allocation was the institutional green light every CIO was waiting for
Joost V. Tudor Jones literally printed the institutional roadmap with that letter. every pension fund that bought BTC post-2020 traces back to PTJ going first
EU planning 750B euro stimulus at the same time. global money printer go brrr was the ultimate BTC ad
inflation_maxi the coordinated global stimulus was unprecedented. every central bank printing simultaneously was the perfect BTC narrative
PTJ allocating 1% of his portfolio in 2020 was the single biggest institutional signal before MicroStrategy went all in. that one percent was billions
PTJ allocating 1% of his portfolio in 2020 was the single biggest institutional signal before MicroStrategy went all in. that one percent was billions
PTJ going first gave every other hedge fund manager cover. you can almost trace the entire 2020-2021 institutional wave back to that one letter
PTJ allocating 1% of his portfolio in 2020 was the single biggest institutional signal before MicroStrategy went all in. that one percent was billions
36% in one month off the COVID crash lows. everyone who called BTC dead at $3800 in March 2020 was awfully quiet by end of April
36% in one month off the COVID crash lows. everyone who called BTC dead at $3800 in March 2020 was awfully quiet by end of April
thomas_bear_ my uncle too. PTJ used the word inflation 14 times in that letter. the framing was perfect for tradfi people
36% in one month off the COVID crash lows. everyone who called BTC dead at $3800 in March 2020 was awfully quiet by end of April
36 percent rally in one month off the 3800 crash low. everyone who called BTC dead in march 2020 got silenced pretty fast
PTJ comparing BTC to gold in that letter was what got my dad to finally buy. one paragraph from a macro legend did more than 100 crypto twitter threads
bought at 3800 during the crash and sold at 9k thinking i was a genius. that trade did not age well lol