Crypto diehards braced for a Bitcoin bombshell, but Trump let them down. No lie.
The freshly sworn-in president didn’t drop the word “crypto” once in his inauguration speech, nor did he sign any digital-asset executive orders. A Bitcoin bummer if there was ever one.
No one from his camp hinted he would, but expectations were running wild, especially after the Trump family’s shocking memecoin launch over the weekend.
This tantalizing anticipation saw Bitcoin hit a record high pre-inauguration, only to tank a whole 9% when the crypto silence set in. It’s since climbed back to $104K.
Trump’s first day wasn’t entirely crypto-free, tho. He tapped crypto ally Mark Uyeda as acting SEC chair and brought in Caroline Pham, a digital-asset veteran, to helm the CFTC.
The SEC and the CFTC are expected to be central to Trump’s crypto vision. Uyeda shares the president’s goal of ending the past admin’s “war on crypto,” and Pham, who worked on Citibank’s digital-asset strategy, once pitched a pilot program for CFTC crypto oversight.
Read more: Elon’s DOGE to Mars tease sends memecoin soaring
Behind the scenes
While Trump was taking oath as president, his DeFi venture, World Liberty Financial, snagged $100 million worth of tokens.
This included other cryptos like Ether, AAVE, LINK, TRX, ENA, and wrapped Bitcoin, the tokenized representation of BTC on the Ethereum blockchain. Of those, only TRX and AAVE managed modest gains, while $Trump and $Melania nosedived by more than 50%.
Not everyone is impressed with this memecoin mayhem and its impact on the crypto scene as a whole.
Shark Tank’s Mark Cuban weighed in, suggesting starting his own memecoin initiative, but one for the greater good.
“If you want to gamble, gamble. But at least use it to make a dent in the US Debt,” he quipped, shading Trump’s crypto antics.
Read more: Memecoin mayhem: $TRUMP and $MELANIA spark crypto chaos
What’s next?
Some in the crypto world say Trump’s restraint might be strategic.
Anastasija Plotnikova, CEO of Fideum, thinks Trump is cleverly dodging the early memecoin drama to give his team breathing room to develop long-term policy plays. Crypto needs legislation, not quick-fix executive orders, she tells MONIIFY.
Speculation is rampant that something is coming soon. Crypto insiders expect Trump to block a central bank digital currency and possibly greenlight banks trading digital assets.
Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire is betting on imminent executive orders opening crypto investments to super-rich clients.
But not everyone’s buying the hype.
Arthur Hayes, an ex-BitMEX chief once in authorities’ crosshairs for breaching US banking laws, doubts Trump’s crypto vision will extend to Bitcoin reserves, citing time and budget constraints ahead of midterm elections in 2026.
Read more: Party pooper: Trump’s memecoin just brought back crypto’s worst fears
What to watch
With the Federal Reserve still fighting inflation, interest rate policy looms large.
But Trump’s earlier gripes about “far too high” rates hint at a looser stance — potential to fuel the next BTC rally.
Lower rates could boost risky assets like crypto, says eToro crypto analyst Simon Peters.
Eneko Knorr, CEO of stablecoin firm Stabolut, though, warns that the recent memecoin mania will bring short-term spikes and long-term pain, leaving retail investors battered and discouraged.
For now, crypto’s DC breakout remains on hold. Keep your eyes on the Fed and maybe leave the memecoins to the gamblers.
Edited by Ankush Chibber. If you have any tips, ideas or feedback, please get in touch: talk-to-us@moniify.com
