The crypto world is surging on optimism as Donald Trump assumes the office for president for the second time.
The price of Bitcoin (BTC-USD) set another record in the hours leading up to Trump’s inauguration, briefly crossing above $109,000. The world’s largest cryptocurrency is now up 10% since the beginning of this month.
As of 5:29:00 PM UTC. Market Open.
Trump made a lot of promises to crypto enthusiasts in 2024 as he pledged to make the United States the “crypto capital of the planet,” and he appears well on his way to deliver on some of his key pledges to the industry. At least one crypto-focused executive order is expected later today.
“The reign of terror against crypto is over, and the beginning of innovation in America for crypto has just begun,” Trump’s appointed AI and crypto czar David Sachs said Friday evening while speaking to industry insiders at a crypto industry sponsored black tie gala in DC.
Trump himself is participating in the digital asset rally.
Last Friday, Trump’s team launched an official memecoin for the incoming 47th President (TRUMP) along with one for first lady Melania Trump (MELANIA) on the Solana (SOL) blockchain. They began trading Sunday.
Fight Fight Fight LLC along with CIC Digital LLC, an affiliate of The Trump Organization, own 80% of the memecoin’s total supply, subject to a 3-year unlocking schedule, according to a disclosure at the bottom memecoin’s website.
The new Trump memecoins took some in the crypto world by surprise.
One former Trump administration who is now critical of the president said on X that “most dangerous thing” about the Trump coin is that “anyone in world can essentially deposit money into bank account of President of USA with a couple clicks.”
“Every favor — geopolitical, corporate or personal — is now on sale, right out in the open.”
But the coins nonetheless quickly attracted a lot of investor interest as a number of major crypto exchanges said they plan to list the memecoins on their platforms, including Coinbase Global (COIN), Robinhood (HOOD) and Binance.
