Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th US president, becoming only the second US leader in history to return to the White House. Crypto traders with high expectations tuned in to Donald Trump’s inauguration speech on Monday. However, their hopes were dashed when he failed to mention cryptocurrency at all.
President Trump’s inaugural speech did not address cryptocurrency. In a half-hour outline of his policy priorities for his second term as president, Trump didn’t mention crypto.
Instead, Trump highlighted themes of unity, strength, and fairness, addressing critical issues like high inflation, immigration, border control, energy production, and oil. This omission of digital assets contrasts with the expectations of a crypto-friendly administration.
Still, his decision to keep off crypto in his speech was seen as a wise decision by a few analysts. For some in the crypto community, this was a relief, as it meant avoiding the usual political rhetoric that can sometimes create uncertainty or volatility for the market. Influential economist Peter Schiff praised Trump saying:
One of the best things about Trump’s speech is that he didn’t mention Bitcoin.
Peter Schiff
Trump’s silence on digital assets might be seen as a positive for those who prefer the markets to remain undisturbed by political figures.
US President Donald Trump launched a meme coin over the weekend
Many hoped that Trump would address crypto in some form, whether by referencing Bitcoin, discussing the creation of the long-anticipated strategic Bitcoin reserve, or declaring the US as the leading global crypto nation.
Trump’s inauguration speech came shortly after the US president launched his own meme coin on Friday.
The token quickly soared in price, and at its peak, was valued at more than $14 billion, according to CoinGecko. On Sunday, Melania Trump, now the first lady, announced her token, which surged to nearly $2 billion in total value in just hours.
Still, Trump did not mention TRUMP and MELANIA meme coins that launched over the weekend,
According to CoinGecko Trump’s official meme coin dropped by 25% over the course of one hour following the speech, reaching a low of $38. It has since recovered to around $41, with a total value of $8.2 billion.
Bitcoin also fell by 5% to just above $101,000 and now recovered to trade at about $104,000.
Trump shifted his focus to crypto as the industry gained political influence
As the crypto industry flexed its political muscle in the 2024 elections, contributing more than $130 million to federal races, Trump altered his stance and began courting industry executives.
During a May event at Mar-a-Lago, his estate in Palm Beach, Florida Trump noted that if you’re in favor of crypto, you’re gonna vote for him.
Two months later, Trump spoke at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville. Among his promises was a plan to create a US Bitcoin strategic reserve.
In September, he and his sons launched a token issuance for their DeFi platform: World Liberty Financial, which is said to be a stablecoin issuer.
While the project’s initial sales were underwhelming, it reached its initial goal of selling 20 billion tokens just hours before Trump’s inauguration.
World Liberty Financial plans to release another batch of tokens, which, if fully sold, would generate $250 million.
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