Cryptocurrencies fail to sustain momentum under Trump.
Bitcoin may have gone to the moon, but now it is stuck there without any sign of returning to Earth. The cryptocurrency markets rallied before and after President Donald Trump’s 2024 election, presenting a pro-crypto platform that would remove the choke hold the previous administration applied to the industry. But while the president has already followed through on his campaign promises, the crypto bros are unsatisfied and want more. The first-ever White House crypto summit was another opportunity to please the Bitcoin, Ethereum, Cardano, and Fartcoin holders.
Bitcoin Goes to Washington
The crypto industry’s who’s who emerged in Washington on March 7 as the Trump administration held a first-of-its-kind summit. Hosted by artificial intelligence and crypto czar David Sacks, the White House opened its doors to some of the top names in the space, including MicroStrategy executive Michael Saylor, the Winklevoss twins, and Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong.
President Trump reiterated a sentiment he delivered on the campaign trail: “From this day on, America will follow the rule that every Bitcoin holder knows very well, never sell your Bitcoin. That’s a little phrase that they have.” Trump lambasted his predecessor for strong-arming the financial system by pushing institutions to target the accounts belonging to crypto firms and entrepreneurs. He also stated that his administration will open the door for the industry bolster the economy, foster innovation, and “really go a long way.”
Of course, these jovial prepared remarks were expected. The elephant in the room was the fallout from President Trump unveiling earlier in the week the long-awaited and controversial crypto reserve.
The president signed a March 6 executive order that creates a strategic bitcoin reserve for the United States. While this was terrific news on the surface, crypto markets were disappointed because it did not specify a buying schedule for bitcoin or other tokens. Instead, the reserve will feature coins already in possession by the federal government that were confiscated by law enforcement. Additionally, the administration would establish a separate “digital asset stockpile” that would include Ethereum, Ripple (XRP), Cardano (ADA), and Solana (SOL), which triggered debate among market participants across social media.
The announcement caused the bulls to shed bearish tears, complaining that the White House was not more aggressive. There had been hopes that the summit would assuage investor concerns, but the event failed to generate much optimism. In fact, according to Jeff Park, an executive with the Bitwise crypto investment group, President Trump is “off the hook” for what the industry did for him. “If you want something else later, he’ll want something else from now on,” Park said on social media platform X. “We asked for too little. Having only bitcoin and not the rest of the altcoins in the strategic reserve is not a win. ‘Exploring’ or ‘studying’ concepts is not a win. ‘Not selling’ is not a win. None of these things at the core require an EO at all to do anything.”
What Now?
Crypto markets suffered an $800 billion rout in February. When the calendar flipped to March, digital currencies appeared to turn their fortunes around. However, cryptocurrencies quickly sank into an ocean of red ink as the month progressed, even with the president’s executive order. The White House summit could not reverse their recent misfortunes.
In the hours following the Washington powwow, bitcoin plunged nearly 2% and fell below $86,000. Ethereum shed more than 1% to $2,138. Solana and Cardano slumped 4%. In fact, the total crypto market value erased about $200 billion in one week. Ultimately, this could begin a bear market, emulating the post-pandemic downturn, even as Capitol Hill adopts a pro-crypto stance.
Indeed, this was almost expected since investors had priced in everything Trump had promised. It would have been hard for cryptocurrencies to sustain the momentum outside of the president signing an executive order pegging the dollar to bitcoin. What else could the administration do?
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