Two impeachments, two documented assassination attempts, and several federal indictments couldn’t stop the man Donald Trump from reclaiming the white house.
In a victory described as a landslide, the United States is once again red.
Trump takes back the Oval Office on January 20th.
Borrowing a leaf from Nayib Bukele of El Salvador, Trump has been anywhere between mildly supportive at worst and wildly fanatic about the digital currency market at best. In October, only a few weeks prior to the elections, Trump attended a crypto summit.
The first US president, past or present to attend an organized crypto event. Trump’s inauguration will include a Crypto Ball with technology industry leaders celebrating him as “the first crypto president”. The Ball will take place on 17 January.
In the crypto markets, the frenzy has reached a fever pitch. BTC has surged more than $30,000 since Trump won the elections. Bitcoin currently trades at $102,300 per token from around $74,000 in November. In fact, the digital markets started reacting positively when poll results showed Trump leading in key battleground states. In crypto land, getting Trump back is a blessing.
Reminiscing about the good old days during the first Trump administration when the digital market was in a bull run, most crypto investors hope for a continuation of such proceedings. In 2016 for example when Trump got elected, Bitcoin was $379 per coin. Fast forward to January 20 2021, Bitcoin had hit $36,000 per token—a 10,000% appreciation under Trump.
To make the already merry fable merrier, Trump has Elon Musk by his side. Elon is a polarizing individual whose perception largely depends on what side of the political divide one stands on. While MAGA supporters put him on a pedestal akin to a messiah, the opposition views him as an evil oligarch.
In Biden’s farewell speech, he described Oligarchy as a threat to US Democracy; a blatant dig at Elon Musk. To crypto investors, however, Musk is good news. Tesla was one of the first companies to accept digital currency payments and Musk has been a vocal voice in support of decentralization and crypto.
Crypto, SEC and Gary Gensler
Security and Exchange Commission SEC Chair Gary Gensler has been at the forefront of crypto regulations. A much-hated figure by digital assets fanatics who view him as a highly unneeded umpire. The Ripple issue is one that lingered for close to half a decade. Even though a ruling came in favor of Ripple, Gary has been critical of the judgement.
According to the official SEC website, the outgoing Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler has filed a document that will probably be his organization’s final lawsuit against a crypto promoter. The document explains why a crypto industry-redefining ruling about Ripple’s XRP was supposedly a tragic error.
Gensler stepping down on the same day Trump gets inaugurated couldn’t be more bullish for digital currencies. Gary Gensler will step down in the coming days. According to CNN, Gensler is stepping down to avoid an imminent sack from Trump.
Crypto prediction during the incoming Trump administration
An underlying theme or the incoming Trump administration is less government involvement. This is evident in the creation of the Department Of Government Efficiency, DOGE. A novel agency that aims to trim the government and cut waste. The same can be said of the rumored incoming FBI director Kash Patel who looks to trim the Bureau of Investigation. What this looks like is fewer and fewer regulations.
With fewer regulations, one may argue that the landscape will be filled with bad actors but as we all know, regulations stifle the growth of budding technology as we have seen with Nuclear technology and potentially with Artificial Intelligence.
Fewer regulation is also in line with the basic tenet of cryptocurrency; Decentralization. With massive crypto adoption, it is yet to see how the world changes and what the role or traditional fiat around the world will evolve to be.
Generally, in the digital currency market, bullish sentiments are at an all-time high and while it may seem cool to go with the crowd, caution needs and must be applied. Superstar investor Warren Buffet advises investors to be fearful when the crowd is greedy.
Historically, market crashes come when the crowd least expects. In light of this, invest
BTC
tors must tread with caution and remember that speculation comes with a degree of uncertainty, hence the need to mitigate risk and avoid overexposure.
Bitcoin is the pioneer cryptocurrency and is the main mover of the digital currency market. When Bitcoin nudges a bit lower, other altcoins stumble. If crypto will perform well during the new administration, Bitcoin should be among the best performing assets.
One could argue that Bitcoin is losing its market dominance as the ETHBTC chart indicates, but this dominance against the mother coin typically doesn’t last. Time and time again, BTC regains its position as the prime mover.
While outrageous predictions of BTC hitting $1m are out there, investors must think of realistic price targets in the next four years and more so, prepare to liquidate positions after getting a certain return on investment. Realistically, BTC may go as high as $300k before the end of Trump’s second term in office.
XRP
Ripple is a blockchain payment solution that was suffocated in a long legal litigation with the SEC. Since Ripple partially won the case, XRP CEO Brad Garlinghouse has had a private dinner with Trump, all banks in Japan are set to adopt XRP’s ledger. These are all bullish news for the token.
DOGE
A meme or a joke that originated into a digital token and is gradually becoming a serious asset. With Dogecoin, customers can purchase Tesla vehicles from the world’s leading Electric Vehicle EV manufacturer.
The bullish case for DOGE also comes with the fact that the acronym for the new Department Of Government Efficiency DOGE is practically the name of the token. Was this a coincidence or did Musk coin the name to fit? Prior affiliation of Musk and Tesla with Dogecoin indicates it was a calculated move. In 2024, DOGE gave investors a whooping 251% in returns.
