Trump’s Reelection And The Cryptocurrency Markets

Images by GettyImages; Illustration by Bankrate

President Donald Trump’s support of crypto markets has led to a slew of changes this year. Regulatory crackdowns have eased and new pro-crypto bills have passed. Lawsuits against major crypto companies have been dropped and Bitcoin has hit a couple of all-time highs, breaking $124,000 in August.

Here’s a closer look at what’s happened with crypto so far during Trump’s second term.

January

Trump returned to the White House in January for a second term as president and wasted no time jumping into the crypto space by creating his own memecoin, $TRUMP, just days ahead of the inauguration. A few days later, he signed an executive order establishing his formal support for private crypto innovation. This executive order set up a working group to organize crypto policy across agencies. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) also launched a crypto task force to develop regulations that are more friendly to crypto innovation.

February

February saw the real-world impacts of January’s policy momentum in both markets and courts. Lawsuits against major crypto platforms began to fall away, with the SEC dropping a lawsuit against Coinbase, closing its investigation into Robinhood’s crypto division and pausing its lawsuit against Binance before dismissing the suit in May. Crypto markets also took a downturn due to tariff uncertainty and lingering inflation, with Bitcoin falling significantly from its January highs.

March

Trump signed an executive order creating a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve that holds bitcoins seized during criminal and civil cases, as well as a separate digital asset stockpile for other confiscated crypto tokens. A day later, the White House hosted a crypto summit on March 7, where industry leaders met to discuss the future of crypto and the new reserve. Investors who once hoped that the government would buy coins for the reserve were left disappointed, and Bitcoin’s price fell below $80,000.

April

In early April, regulations surrounding crypto continued to ease. The U.S. Department of Justice disbanded its National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team and said its crypto investigations would be restricted to those involving drug cartels and terrorist groups. Created under the Biden administration, the unit worked on high-profile cases against major crypto exchanges, such as FTX and Binance that sent both founders to prison and resulted in billions of dollars in fines. Bitcoin fell to its lowest point, $76,312, so far this year as tariffs rattled the markets.

May

Tokenization — where real-world assets like Treasurys, real estate and stocks are issued and traded on the blockchain — has been on the rise this year, with VanEck offering its first tokenized fund that holds U.S. Treasurys in May. Other large asset managers also signaled a growing commitment to tokenization by meeting with SEC officials. The tokenization market is valued at about $25 billion, according to Bloomberg.

June

Major crypto legislation came in June when the U.S. Senate passed the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act (GENIUS Act).

In its final version, the bill:

• Created a regulatory framework for stablecoins, which are a $300 billion part of the multi-trillion dollar cryptocurrency system.
• Limited the issuance of stablecoins to authorized entities.
• Mandated a 100-percent reserve requirement and monthly public disclosures of reserves.
• Gave stablecoin owners a higher priority if a custodian or issuer files for bankruptcy.

July

The House held a Crypto Week in July to focus on crypto-related legislation, such as the GENIUS Act, which it passed and Trump signed into law.

“This is a historic opportunity for the United States,” House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) said in a release. “After years of work, American innovators are one step closer to having the clarity they need to build here at home while ensuring the future of the digital economy reflects our values of privacy, individual sovereignty, and free-market competitiveness.”

August

Trump signed an executive order directing the Department of Labor to revisit its guidance on alternative assets in 401(k)s and clarify how plan fiduciaries could legally include alternative assets, such as crypto, private equity and real estate.

The order doesn’t change current policy, but it does signal Trump’s support for making these assets available in retirement plans.

Bottom line

Legislative action, deregulation and vocal support from the Trump administration have helped fuel a crypto market rebound this year. For investors, crypto has become more accessible with new ETFs and tokenized assets, but volatility and regulatory changes add additional risk. All in all, crypto is considered a speculative investment and if you do decide to invest — whether eventually as part of a retirement plan or elsewhere — only invest what you can afford to lose.

Editorial Disclaimer: All investors are advised to conduct their own independent research into investment strategies before making an investment decision. In addition, investors are advised that past investment product performance is no guarantee of future price appreciation.