Bitcoin and crypto prices have dropped sharply over the last 24 hours as newly sworn in U.S. president Donald Trump failed to mention bitcoin or crypto.
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The bitcoin price had surged to an all-time high on Monday morning as Trump began his inauguration but it crashed back as it looked increasingly likely Trump would sideline crypto from his first day actions.
Now, after blowing up the bitcoin and crypto market over the weekend, the newly launched $trump and U.S. first lady Melania Trump’s $melania memecoins have each plummeted as traders cash out.
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U.S. president Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump each launched their own memecoin … [+]
Trump’s memecoin has dropped 30% over the last 24 hours while $melania is down more than 50% after both coins rocketed higher following their release.
“I think in the short term there’s a chance this could be a sell-the-news event,” Matthew Dibb, chief investment officer at crypto asset manager Astronaut Capital, told Reuters, adding that crypto investors had been anticipating some executive actions to be rolled out during Trump’s first day in office.
In July, then Republican candidate Donald Trump promised to create a “strategic national bitcoin reserve” and predicted bitcoin could eclipse gold’s $16 trillion market capitalization during an appearance at the Bitcoin 2024 conference.
“The market has 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,” Dibb said. “Bitcoin has already retreated … We are expecting further volatility here and likely a sell-off.”
Trump’s memecoin surged to a market capitalization of almost $15 billion over the weekend but crashed back after it was announced Melania had issued her own coin, with traders rushing to exchange $trump for $melania and panicking that there could be more Trump family memecoins on the way that could weigh on prices.
“Bitcoin’s climb above $106,500 during president Trump’s inauguration quickly lost steam, sliding to around $100,500 once it became clear no formal endorsement—such as a strategic bitcoin reserve—would be announced in his speech,” Mena Theodorou, cofounder at crypto exchange Coinstash, said via email.
“The pullback extended across the market, hitting $trump and $melania tokens particularly hard. Within the hour, bitcoin rebounded to the $102,000 to $104,000 range, signalling markets remain bullish. While investors may be disappointed that Trump did not address digital assets directly, purchases by Trump’s World Liberty Financial for $47 million of both bitcoin and ethereum to mark his inauguration as the United States’ 47th presidency speak louder than words—fueling optimism for broader crypto support ahead.”
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The bitcoin price has dipped after soaring to a new all-time high ahead of Donald Trump’s … [+]
The Trump family decentralized finance (DeFi) project World Liberty Financial—which completed its $300 milllion token sale in the last week—has bought around $112 million worth of cryptocurrencies, adding nearly $50 million each of ethereum and wrapped bitcoin alongside around $5 million each of aave, link, tron and ethena.
While the outlook for cryptocurrencies may be bullish if Trump follows through with his crypto plans, analysts have warned against people rushing to buy new memecoins that may be announced.
“If Donald Trump delivers on his election promises, we could see cryptocurrency markets continue to surge,” Kenneth Lamont, principle at Morningstar, said in emailed comments.
“However, investors would do well to resist the siren call of fear of missing out, and sit on their hands,” Lamont said. “The official Trump coin $trump was announced on Friday and by mid-day Sunday the newly minted meme coin had a market cap just short of $14 billion before tumbling just a day later following the news of $melania coin.”
