Bitcoin and Trump’s Token Cool Down After Inauguration Speech

Crypto Market Reacts to Trump’s Inauguration, Bitcoin Falls Below $103K
Bitcoin Dips as Trump’s Policies Skip Digital Assets
Trump’s First Day in Office: Crypto Disappointment as Digital Assets Left Unmentioned
Trump’s Token and Bitcoin Fall as Crypto Investors Face Inauguration Letdown

SINGAPORE/PARIS (Reuters) – Bitcoin, other cryptocurrencies, and even the newly launched token bearing Donald Trump’s name cooled off on Tuesday after the U.S. president’s first set of policies following his inauguration made no reference to the asset class.

Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, reached a record high of $109,071 on Monday when Trump was sworn in as the 47th U.S. president, but began to fall shortly after. By 1001 GMT on Tuesday, it was trading at $102,546.13, still up around 9.5% for the month.

Trump’s own cryptocurrency, launched on Friday night, was trading at $37.98, according to cryptocurrency price tracker CoinMarketCap. This was roughly halved from its peak of around $75 on Monday when its market value surpassed $14 billion. The coin had been priced around $6.50 at its launch.

Trump’s inaugural speech on Monday was accompanied by numerous executive orders and plans relating to trade tariffs, immigration, energy deregulation, and even a reprieve for the popular Chinese short-video app TikTok. However, he did not mention cryptocurrencies.

“The digital asset market is disappointed to not have been mentioned in the inauguration speech or day 1 executive orders,” said Geoffrey Kendrick, global head of digital assets research at Standard Chartered.

“I suspect bitcoin will end up going lower so long as we get no news from Trump on digital assets. A break back below $100,000 seems inevitable,” he added.

For months, crypto investors had hoped that the crypto-friendly president would bring about a major shift in U.S. policies towards the volatile asset class. This excitement helped bitcoin rise above $100,000 for the first time ever in December last year.

“I think in the short term there’s a chance this could be a sell-the-news event,” said Matthew Dibb, chief investment officer at crypto asset manager Astronaut Capital. He added that crypto investors had been anticipating some executive actions to be rolled out during Trump’s first day in office.

“The market had some great expectations about a bitcoin strategic reserve and a loosening of regulations around digital assets, but it’s more likely these developments will be drip-fed over a series of months rather than days. Bitcoin has already retreated… We are expecting further volatility here and likely a selloff,” Dibb said.

Crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs) also saw sell-offs. The ChinaAMC bitcoin ETF shed nearly 6%.

However, Trump has already made personnel changes that the industry sees as encouraging. He appointed Mark Uyeda, a Republican member of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), to be acting chair of the SEC, and plans to nominate former SEC Commissioner Paul Atkins to run the regulator on a permanent basis.

Atkins is widely expected to end a crypto crackdown initiated by former President Joe Biden’s Democratic SEC chair Gary Gensler, and Uyeda has criticized the SEC for failing to offer guidance on how crypto companies can register with the SEC.

Top Republican officials at the SEC are set to begin overhauling its cryptocurrency policies, potentially as early as next week, according to three people briefed on the matter.

Conflict of Interest

Meanwhile, Trump’s launch of the $TRUMP token and the $MELANIA token for first lady Melania Trump, just before his inauguration, has raised new conflict-of-interest concerns, according to ethics experts and industry insiders.

Eighty percent of Trump coin’s tokens are owned by CIC Digital, an affiliate of Trump’s business, and another entity called Fight, Fight, Fight, according to its website.

The companies have stated that the tokens are not investments or securities but rather an “expression of support for, and engagement with, the ideals and beliefs embodied by the symbol ‘$TRUMP’.”

Another Trump-linked crypto project, World Liberty Financial, announced on Monday that it had completed an initial token sale, raising $300 million, and plans to issue additional tokens.

While Trump has pledged to hand over management of his assets to his children, the crypto market is raising particular concerns due to its ability to quickly attract billions in speculative investments with little transparency.

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