Bitcoin rally cools as Trump makes no new mention of crypto

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SINGAPORE/PARIS: Bitcoin, other cryptocurrencies and even newly minted tokens bearing Donald Trump’s name took a chill on Tuesday, after the US president made no reference to the asset in his first set of policies since his inauguration. Not given.

Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, touched a record high of $109,071 on Monday after Trump was sworn in as the 47th US president, but later began to decline. As of 1001 GMT on Tuesday, it was trading at $102,546.13 — up nearly 9.5 percent so far this month.

Trump’s own cryptocurrency, which was launched on Friday night, was trading at $37.98, according to cryptocurrency price tracker CoinMarketCap, down nearly half from its peak of around $75 on Monday, when it had a market value of $14. exceeded billion. At the time of launch, the coin was valued at around $6.50.

Trump’s inaugural speech on Monday included several executive orders and plans for trade tariffs, immigration, energy deregulation and even the popular Chinese short video app TikTok. But he did not mention cryptocurrencies.

“It was disappointing that the digital asset market was not mentioned in the opening speech or the executive orders on Day 1,” said Jeffrey Kendrick, global head of digital asset research at Standard Chartered.

“I doubt Bitcoin will stay lower until we get some news from Trump on digital assets. A break below $100,000 seems inevitable.” He said. For months, hopes were building among crypto investors that the crypto-friendly president would initiate a shift in US policies towards the volatile asset class. The excitement helped bitcoin top $100,000 for the first time in December last year.

“I think in the short term it’s likely to be a news selling event,” said Matthew Dubb, chief investment officer at crypto asset manager Astronaut Capital, adding that crypto investors expect some management action. were doing During Trump’s first day in office.

“The market has some high expectations for bitcoin’s strategic reserve and the easing of regulations around digital assets, but it’s more likely that these developments will trickle down over a series of months rather than days. Bitcoin first has pulled back… we expect more volatility here and possibly a sell-off,” Dubb said.

Crypto exchange-traded funds also sold off. The China AMC Bitcoin ETF fell about 6.0 percent. However, Trump has already set in motion staffing changes that the industry sees as encouraging.

He has tapped Mark Oueda, a Republican member of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, to be the SEC’s acting chief and plans to nominate former SEC Commissioner Paul Atkins to run the regulator on a permanent basis. .

Atkins is widely expected to end former President Joe Biden’s crackdown on crypto led by Democratic SEC Chair Gary Gensler, and Ueda has criticized the SEC for being too lenient about it. Failed to offer guidance on how crypto companies can register with the SEC.

Top Republican officials at the SEC are poised to begin an overhaul of their cryptocurrency policies, possibly as early as next week, three people briefed on the matter said.

Conflict of interest

Meanwhile, Trump’s launch of $TRUMP tokens and $MELANIA tokens for first lady Melania Trump shortly before her inauguration raises new conflict-of-interest concerns, ethics experts and industry insiders said. said

Eighty percent of Trump Coin’s tokens are owned by CIC Digital, a Trump business affiliate, and another entity called Fight, Fight, Fight, according to its website. , and engagement with the ideals and beliefs embodied by the symbol ‘$TRUMP’.

World Liberty Financial, a separate Trump-linked crypto project, also announced Monday that it had completed an initial token sale, raising $300 million, and would seek to issue additional tokens.

Trump has promised to hand over the management of his assets to his children, but crypto is particularly worrisome because of its ability to quickly attract billions of speculative dollars with little transparency. is