Key Points
Bitcoin’s Disappointment Post Trump’s Inauguration
On January 20, President Donald Trump assumed office. The crypto market had high hopes for a declaration of crypto as a national “priority”. However, the first day in office was a letdown for pro-crypto enthusiasts.
Bitcoin (BTC) retreated from its all-time high above $109,000 and settled close to $105,000 on Tuesday. Top altcoins ranked by market capitalization, Ethereum (ETH) and XRP (XRP), also saw their recent gains wiped out.
President Trump signed over 80 executive orders on their first day back in office, but Bitcoin was missing from action.
The crypto President had promised a Bitcoin strategic reserve and pro-crypto policy and regulation. These promises were in response to campaign donations from Political action committees powered by crypto firms and protocols in the US.
Whether a Bitcoin strategic reserve will materialize in the US remains uncertain.
The crypto market saw $816 million in liquidations as Trump missed Bitcoin and pro-crypto action on his first day in office.
Top 5 Tokens Trending in the U.S.
While the crypto markets wait for Trump to push the industry towards clearer policy and regulation, the top three tokens trending in the U.S. are Official Trump (TRUMP), Melania Meme (MELANIA) and Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Bitcoin ranks fifth in popularity and 24-hour trade volume, as recorded by CoinGecko.
Even as Official Trump (TRUMP) and MELANIA (MELANIA) slipped lower post the inauguration event, on-chain intelligence trackers have identified large wallet investors buying the dip in the two meme tokens.
The TRUMP memecoin launched on Jan 17, climbing to a $75 billion fully dilated valuation within 48 hours.
MELANIA memecoin launch on Jan 19 while TRUMP price dropped nearly 50%. Following the two meme token launches, Solana’s (SOL) the total value of assets locked jumped to $3.5 billion, over a 41% increase in TVL within 48 hours.
Solana’s weekly price chart shows signs of further gains in the token.
The outlook for Bitcoin and XRP remains positive.
Bitcoin hovers close to its all-time high of $109,000.
XRP could rally another 25% and extend its gains to enter price discovery at $3.9815, the 141.40% Fibonacci retracement level of the rally to the altcoin’s all-time high.
David Morrison, Senior Market Analyst at Trade Nation, expressed disappointment across the crypto sector as the new President made no mention of either a US crypto reserve, or of deregulation.
James Toledano, COO of Unity Wallet, notes that over $816 million in long positions and $307 million in shorts were liquidated. This indicates a high-risk environment where traders were over-leveraged on both bullish and bearish bets in a very frothy market.
The liquidations have stemmed not only from excessive market leverage and speculative positioning leading up to the inauguration but also from Trump’s omission of Bitcoin in his speech at the event.
