Trump’s First 100 Days: Crypto’s Wild Ride

“Finally, someone who gets it,” people said. 

Talk of pro-Bitcoin policies, crypto-friendly reforms, and an end to the Gensler era gave traders that sweet, irrational optimism we always seem to fall for.

But here we are, 100 days in and things haven’t exactly gone as planned.

It started loud. Like, really loud. Right before Inauguration Day, Trump dropped a $TRUMP token. The MAGA crowd loved it. Others? Not so much. People cried foul, called it a walking conflict of interest. 

The coin pumped to over $75… then nosedived. Hard. It’s down more than 80% now. The $MELANIA token? Even worse. A 97% crash, and almost zero liquidity. Brutal.

Still, early signs were promising. Twitter was buzzing with rumors about a presidential Bitcoin reserve, maybe even a sweeping executive order to unleash American crypto innovation. 

And when BTC spiked to a record $109,000 on January 20 right after Trump took the oath, it felt like the narrative was writing itself.

But then… the noise faded.

To his credit, Trump has delivered on some promises. Ross Ulbricht got a full pardon, which sent shockwaves through both the crypto and legal communities. 

Meanwhile, SBF apparently tried to wiggle into clemency talks, classic. No dice (yet). Washington saw some key appointments too: Scott Bessent, a known crypto bull, took over at Treasury. David Sacks got handed the brand-new AI + Crypto Czar position. (He even dumped all his holdings before stepping in, which some saw as integrity, others called it PR.)

But not everything has gone smoothly.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick? Got grilled hard during confirmation for his Tether connections. That hearing felt more like a courtroom.

Then came March 2, and things got wild.

Trump publicly announced a national crypto reserve, made up of XRP, Solana, and Cardano. Wait, what? Twitter (sorry, X) exploded. Those coins mooned instantly. But the real shocker? No Bitcoin. No Ethereum. People lost it.

Critics said the plan was vague, unrealistic. Some flat-out called it pandering. A few days later, Trump seemed to pivot again and signed an executive order creating two reserves: one for Bitcoin, one for “alternative assets.” It sounded nice, but the details killed the hype. 

The U.S. wouldn’t buy any new BTC unless it could be done “budget-neutrally.” Translation: no big buys, no moon.

Right now, government wallets reportedly hold around 198,000 BTC, worth about $19B. But a chunk of that is still slated for return to Bitfinex. So the real reserve? Smaller than it sounds. Still, it’s historic. And maybe it sets the stage for other countries to follow.

Then came the much-hyped White House Crypto Summit on March 7. Big names showed up, Saylor, Coinbase’s Brian Armstrong, a bunch of fund managers. The headlines were flashy, but behind the scenes, people said it felt more like a branding exercise than an actual policy meeting.

Meanwhile, economic storm clouds are gathering.

Trump’s been accused of intentionally rattling the stock market to pressure the Fed into cutting rates. It’s not just a theory either, after slapping a 145% tariff on Chinese imports, recession fears hit the gas. BTC plunged to $80K, dipped dangerously close to $75K. Stocks tanked too. Nasdaq and the S&P 500 both took gut punches.

To calm the chaos, the White House paused some tariffs, especially on electronics but the market’s still jittery. Some big investors are exiting U.S. assets altogether and parking funds in gold. Safe, boring, and unfortunately, increasingly appealing.

In the background, a legal battle is brewing. Trump’s openly clashing with Fed Chair Jerome Powell. He’s even hinted at firing him, which presidents technically can’t do… yet. But a pending Supreme Court case might flip that rule. If it does? Brace yourself. The markets won’t take it quietly.

On the regulatory front, we finally got a new SEC chair: Paul Atkins. Gensler’s out. And good riddance, according to most of CT. One of Atkins’ first jobs? Deciding whether to greenlight ETFs tracking altcoins like XRP and Solana.

And that $TRUMP token? Still kicking. The devs just launched a wild promo: a leaderboard competition where the top 220 holders win a seat at a private Trump dinner. It actually caused a 64% pump. Not bad. But skeptics say it smells like a classic pump-and-dump dressed in steakhouse vibes.

So here we are, 100 days down.

Bitcoin’s dropped 12%, investor confidence is shaky, and a CNN poll says most Americans believe Trump’s economic policies are hurting, not helping. The dream of a 2025 Bitcoin ATH? Still possible, but slipping.

With 1,361 days still to go… this ride is far from over.

Just don’t expect it to be smooth.