Bitcoin Takes Wild Ride as Trump Assumes Office for Second Term

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Cryptocurrency is experiencing increased volatility as Donald Trump takes office for his second term as president.

Bitcoin (BTC-USD) reached a new high just before Trump's inauguration, briefly surpassing $109,000, but then dropped below $101,000 after Trump’s inauguration speech.

Although Trump made several promises to crypto enthusiasts in 2024, including his goal to make the U.S. the "crypto capital of the planet," he did not discuss specific policies during his address. Many are expecting an executive order related to crypto later today.

David Sacks, Trump's appointed AI and crypto czar, declared that "the reign of terror against crypto is over" and that America is entering a new phase of innovation in the crypto space.

Trump himself is actively participating in the digital asset boom, having launched a meme coin (TRUMP) for his presidency and another (MELANIA) for first lady Melania Trump, both on the Solana (SOL) blockchain. These coins began trading on Sunday.

The Trump meme coins have caused a stir in the crypto world. Some critics, including a former Trump administration official, have raised concerns about the implications of such coins, suggesting that they could allow anyone globally to deposit money into the U.S. President's bank account with just a few clicks.

Despite the criticism, the coins have attracted significant investor attention, with major crypto exchanges, including Coinbase, Robinhood, and Binance, planning to list them.

Following the launch, the Solana blockchain saw more than $50 billion in trading volume over the last 48 hours, surpassing all other blockchains for that period, according to Bernstein data. Currently, the TRUMP coin has a market cap exceeding $10 billion, making it one of the top 20 cryptocurrencies by market value.

Bernstein analyst Gautam Chhugani believes Trump's coin signals a new regulatory era for crypto, which may influence investment strategies within the ecosystem. However, he acknowledged that some investors may still be wary.

Dan Hughes, CTO of the crypto platform Radix, called Trump's inauguration an "unprecedented moment" for crypto markets. However, he warned that if the expected executive orders do not materialize quickly or lack substantial impact, it could negatively affect the market in the short term.

Paraphrasing text from "Yahoo!Finance" all rights reserved by the original author.