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The cryptocurrency market didn’t have a great first quarter after a stellar 2024. Bitcoin (BTC), the world’s most popular cryptocurrency, has seen a steep decline in the past month, with its price retreating sharply from its all-time high by more than 25%.

Rising inflation, coupled with President Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs on several trading partners of the United States, has raised fears of taking a massive toll on the economy’s health. The fears of a recession have seen investors rushing to safe-haven stocks lately. However, Bitcoin still has a lot of potential and once the ongoing trade tensions ease and inflation cools, the cryptocurrency will resume its rally.

Given this scenario, it would be ideal to adopt the buy-the-dip approach. It would thus be ideal to add bitcoin-centric stocks like NVIDIA Corporation NVDA, Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. IBKR and Robinhood Markets, Inc. HOOD to your portfolio. Each of these stocks has strong growth potential for 2025 and has seen positive earnings estimate revisions in the last 60 days.

Bitcoin Tumbles From Previous Highs

Bitcoin has given up almost all the gains it made immediately after Trump’s victory in the Presidential election. The cryptocurrency hit an all-time high of $106,533 on Dec. 22. However, it has since failed to hold on to the momentum. Bitcoin has retreated sharply over the past month and was hovering around $83750 on Monday.

The decline comes as fears of a trade war continue to escalate following Trump’s announcement of hefty tariffs on several countries. The President last week announced 25% tariffs on all imported cars and light trucks, which go into effect on April.

Also, Trump has already announced 25% reciprocal tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico, which will also go into effect on Wednesday. Besides, a 10% tariff on Chinese goods is already in place.

However, Trump also said last week that the tariffs will be flexible and narrower in scope and he may give some countries a break from the reciprocal tariffs. Also, sector-specific tariffs could be delayed further. This has eased some of the fears but investors are yet to get a clearer picture of how the situation will shape up in the near term.

Inflation Still Sky-High

The Bitcoin rally in the final quarter of 2024 was also largely triggered by the decline in inflation as the Federal Reserve started its easing cycle with a 100-basis-point rate cut between September and December.

However, the Fed has since paused its rate cuts after inflation showed signs of increasing. The Federal Reserve has since adopted a cautious approach and is unlikely to go for a rate cut before the second half of the year.

However, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said at the end of the March FOMC meeting that the central bank still plans two rate cuts this year. Higher interest rates for a longer period can negatively affect cryptocurrencies by reducing investor appetite for riskier assets, raising the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets like Bitcoin, and strengthening the U.S. dollar, which often puts pressure on the crypto market.

Bitcoin’s recent decline can be attributed to the uncertainty over the ongoing trade turmoil and steep inflation. The cryptocurrency is bound to resume its rally once these tensions ease.

Moreover, Bitcoin has historically reached new record highs every four years, following bullish trends since 2017. In the past cycles, it surged by 2,300% and 1,700%, only to experience corrections of 70% to 80%. After hitting a low of $16,000 in early 2023, Bitcoin has risen by almost 600%, indicating strong growth potential moving forward.

3 Bitcoin-Centric Stocks With Upside

NVIDIA Corporation

NVIDIA Corporation is a major player in the semiconductor industry and has been one of the standout success stories of 2023. As a leading designer of graphic processing units (GPUs), the value of the NVDA stock tends to surge in a thriving crypto market. This is primarily due to the crucial role that GPUs play in data centers, artificial intelligence and the mining or production of cryptocurrencies.

NVIDIA’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 48%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 4.8% over the last 60 days. Currently, NVIDIA has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here .

Interactive Brokers Group, Inc.

Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. is a global automated electronic broker. IBKR executes, processes and trades in cryptocurrencies. IBKR’s commodities futures trading desk also offers customers a chance to trade cryptocurrency futures.

Interactive Brokers Group has an expected earnings growth rate of 1.3% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 1.3% over the last 60 days. IBKR currently has a Zacks Rank #2.

Robinhood Markets

Robinhood Markets, Inc. operates a financial services platform in the United States. Its platform allows users to invest in stocks, exchange-traded funds, options, gold and cryptocurrencies. HOOD buys and sells Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin and other cryptocurrencies using its Robinhood Crypto platform.

Robinhood Markets’ expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 36.7%.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 26.3% over the last 60 days. Robinhood Markets currently has a Zacks Rank #2.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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