When it comes to cryptocurrency, one name stands out above the crowd: Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC). The original cryptocurrency accounts for roughly 63% of the entire crypto market cap.

However, Bitcoin is so big that it doesn't always produce the best returns. More recently, XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) has gotten a lot of attention as regulatory pressure eases on the company, and its utility has gotten a major boost from several advancements from Ripple. Meanwhile, Ether (CRYPTO: ETH) is often seen as the backbone of DeFi, with its smart contract blockchain doing most of the heavy lifting in the industry.

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While there's a case to be made for either to outperform Bitcoin, I think Bitcoin will ultimately outperform amid the current environment. Here are three reasons why investors should consider the king of cryptos.

Image source: Getty Images.

1. The flight to quality

President Donald Trump has quickly and aggressively enacted wide-reaching tariffs on just about everything imported into the United States since taking office in January. Not only has he announced massive potential tariffs on imports, he's also paused them, said he will carve out exceptions, and unpaused certain tariffs.

All of this leads to massive amounts of uncertainty in the market. It's hard to know what to do with your money if the playing field could completely change tomorrow.

When markets are uncertain, they sell off riskier assets. That's certainly true of the entire cryptocurrency market, and Bitcoin hasn't been immune.

However, of all the cryptocurrencies investors could buy, Bitcoin is the highest-quality investment. It has significant institutional backing and a lot of big stakeholders, and the U.S. government now holds Bitcoin as part of its strategic cryptocurrency reserve. Investors selling risky altcoins are likely to move their money to Bitcoin.

As such, it's no surprise that Bitcoin has held up better than either XRP or Ethereum in the last few months. I expect that will continue to be the case as long as the macroeconomic environment remains uncertain.

2. Investors pulling money out of the U.S. markets

Since Trump's tariff announcement, we've seen both U.S. stocks and U.S. debt decline in value. That's not typically how it works. Remember, investors usually move from risky assets (stocks) to safer assets (Treasuries). However, the decline in Treasuries suggests investors are completely abandoning U.S. markets instead of shifting from risky assets to safer assets.

Those investors will be looking for a safe asset to buy. Foreign debt could be an option; gold is another, but Bitcoin presents an interesting case as well. That's particularly true as a result of a second-order effect from the mass exodus from U.S. securities. The U.S. dollar has grown significantly weaker in the last few weeks.

The U.S. Dollar Index has fallen more than 10% since Trump took office in January. The dollar weakened considerably after the tariffs were announced on April 2, and it failed to bounce back after Trump announced a pause on those tariffs. When the U.S. dollar weakens, it typically results in higher pricing for Bitcoin.

3. Inflation could push the price higher

Bitcoin is seen as a hedge against inflation. Most economists agree the tariffs will be inflationary.

That only makes sense. An escalating trade war with taxes on every import, from manufacturing equipment to parts to final products, will have a huge impact on the final price of goods. Combine that with the weakening U.S. dollar, and we'll see massive inflationary pressure.

Since Bitcoin has a fixed supply, a dollar that can buy less will theoretically apply to Bitcoin as well. That means the price of Bitcoin will go up.

The economics of Bitcoin don't exist in a vacuum, though. The three factors outlined here, all fallout from Trump's tariffs, point to Bitcoin performing relatively well compared to other cryptocurrencies and other assets in general. The longer the macroeconomic environment remains uncertain, the longer the trade war goes on, the more money we'll see flow into Bitcoin compared to other cryptocurrencies. As such, investors may see Bitcoin's dominance of the market extend even further over the coming months.

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Adam Levy has positions in Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

When to file for Social Security benefits is one of the most important decisions you'll make in retirement. Most people first become eligible for retirement benefits starting at age 62, but experts typically recommend waiting until 70 to maximize your monthly check.

Waiting until age 70 could increase your Social Security benefit by roughly 77% compared to claiming at age 62. Most people will live more than long enough for the bigger monthly check to make up for the years of foregone benefits. Indeed, the optimal decision for a single retiree is to wait until 70, barring any reasons to expect a shorter-than-average life.

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But no financial decision should be made in a vacuum. There are plenty of reasons why it might make sense to claim benefits long before age 70. In fact, I plan to claim my Social Security very early, perhaps as soon as I'm eligible. Here are three reasons why it makes sense for me.

Image source: Getty Images.

1. My spouse (to be) is the higher earner

Social Security claiming strategies can become a lot more complex when you're married in retirement.

It won't always be the case, but it usually makes sense for the higher-earning spouse to wait until age 70 to claim Social Security. As mentioned, the average person will live more than long enough for the bigger benefits check to make up for the Social Security they didn't receive in their 60s.

On top of that, the lower-earning spouse may end up receiving survivor benefits if the higher-earning spouse passes away first. Survivor benefits allow the surviving spouse to collect total Social Security benefits equal to the amount the higher-earning spouse received before passing away. That means the lifetime value of delaying benefits until 70 for the higher earner should account for the dual life expectancy of both spouses.

At the same time, the other spouse should consider collecting retirement benefits as early as age 62. Typically, if one partner waits until age 70, the present value of expected household income is maximized by the other partner claiming as soon as they're eligible.

2. I expect to claim spousal benefits

As things stand, I expect my future spouse's retirement benefit to be big enough that I would receive more each month by claiming spousal benefits over my own. Spousal benefits are worth up to 50% of your partner's primary insurance amount, which is the amount they'd collect if applying for benefits exactly when they reach full retirement age.

The key thing about spousal benefits is that, unlike personal retirement benefits, they do not receive delayed retirement credits. Personal benefits will increase by 8% of your primary insurance amount for each year you delay beyond your full retirement age up until age 70. Spousal benefits will max out at your full retirement age.

For me, that's age 67. As such, there's no reason I should delay claiming benefit beyond that age. That's despite the fact that I'm older than my partner, she's likely going to delay benefits until age 70, and I'll be waiting several years to switch to spousal benefits. It's worth taking the slightly smaller personal benefit for a few years before switching to the bigger spousal benefit.

3. I'm well-positioned to avoid taxes on Social Security income

One of the most overlooked challenges of collecting Social Security in your early 60s is Social Security taxation. Those taxes can completely nullify the benefits of strategies like Roth conversions and capital gains harvesting.

That's why it's important to position your finances to minimize the effect of Social Security taxes before you apply. If you don't, you'll end up decreasing the value of your benefits.

Social Security taxes are based on a metric called combined income, which is equal to the sum of your adjusted gross income, any untaxed interest income, and half your Social Security income. If your combined income exceeds certain thresholds, a portion of your Social Security income becomes taxable. The thresholds don't get adjusted for inflation, so they're increasingly difficult to avoid.

Data source: IRS.

I expect to be able to maintain a very low combined income in retirement, thanks to savings in Roth accounts and increasing my cost basis on taxable assets. We plan to stop earning income well before reaching the age of eligibility for Social Security, which will provide ample time to strategically take capital gains and convert some pre-tax retirement assets to a Roth account. As a result, we should be able to keep our adjusted gross income low in our 60s, minimizing the tax burden of Social Security.

I'm fully aware that most people aren't in the fortunate position I'm in. But doing whatever you can to position your finances strategically before you start Social Security is an important factor in making the most of your benefits, whether you're claiming at age 70 or well before it.

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