Trump and Crypto: From Critic to Aspiring
In 2025, former U.S. President Donald Trump returned to the White House as the ‘Crypto President.’ His policies and personal business layout promoting the development of crypto assets are reshaping the global digital asset market. From a critic to an industry leader, Trump’s transformation is not only a political strategy victory but also reflects the rising trend of crypto assets in the mainstream financial system.
Trump’s attitude change
Trump had a strong negative stance on crypto assets in the early days. In 2019, he called Bitcoin ‘not a currency’ and ‘worthless’; in 2021, he even disparaged it as a ‘scam against the US dollar.’ However, this position underwent a fundamental change after 2022.
The key turning point began with NFT marketing: in preparation for the 2024 presidential election, Trump issued personal-themed NFTs, with 45,000 products sold out within 24 hours, making a net profit of $4 million. This made him realize the strong fundraising ability of the crypto assets community. Subsequently, he raised $7.5 million in encrypted donations through the “Trump 47” political action committee, and promised to relax regulations during the campaign, pushing the United States to become the “world capital of crypto assets”.
After taking office in 2025, Trump accelerated action:
- Establishing a national reserve of Crypto Assets: including Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, etc. in the strategic reserves, analogous to gold reserves, and prohibiting the sale of confiscated bitcoins held by the government.
- Policy easing: Abolish the SAB 121 accounting standards that hinder financial institutions from custodial Crypto Assets, terminate SEC lawsuits against platforms like Coinbase, and send out regulatory-friendly signals.
- Issuance of ‘Trump Coin’: The market value of meme coins issued with personal IP once soared by 600%, but later plunged, leading to 813,000 crypto wallets losing $2 billion, exposing speculative risks.
Trump’s transformation is a result of multiple intertwined interests:
- Political demand: The crypto assets industry will invest over 250 million USD in political funds during the 2024 election, becoming an undeniable voting bloc;
- Economic Ambition: Trump proposes to make the United States the global capital of crypto assets, aiming to strengthen financial leadership through digital assets;
- Family business layout: projects such as ‘World Liberty Finance’ led by Trump’s second son, and personal meme coin TRUMP, have brought hundreds of millions of dollars in book profits to the Trump family.
Policy Drive: From Strategic Reserves to Regulatory Relaxation
National Crypto Assets Reserve Plan
In March 2025, Trump signed an executive order announcing that BTC, ETH, SOL, and five other cryptocurrencies will be included in the National Strategic Reserve Framework, and established the President’s Digital Asset Working Group. The plan directly promotes Bitcoin price Surpassing $100,000, the market value soared by hundreds of billions of dollars in a single day. At the first Crypto Assets Summit at the White House, Trump promised to promote stablecoin legislation, dismiss SEC Chairman Powell, who advocates strong regulation of the crypto industry, and appoint supporters to helm regulatory agencies.
Industry support and ecological construction
- Mining industry returning: Trump proposes ‘Bitcoin made in the US’, planning to attract mining companies through tax incentives, aiming to make the US the global computing power center;
- Bank admission relaxed: The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) allows banks to participate in crypto asset activities, and PayPal, Bank of America, and others are planning to issue stable coins;
- Regulatory Framework Optimization: Promote the Financial Innovation and Technology Act of the 21st Century (FIT21) to provide a clear compliance path for crypto companies.
Conclusion
Trump’s ‘Crypto President’ journey is not only a manifestation of personal political ambitions but also a microcosm of the mainstreaming process of crypto assets. From national strategic reserves to the family’s business empire, his policies and actions are reshaping industry norms. However, the long-term healthy development of the market still relies on technological innovation and the improvement of regulatory frameworks. For investors, while chasing policy dividends, they need to be more vigilant about volatility and regulatory uncertainties.
Trump’s crypto asset strategy is not only a game of technological innovation and financial hegemony, but also an extension of personal political ambitions. Although short-term policies have stimulated market enthusiasm, issues such as regulatory arbitrage, interest transmission, and value paradox are eroding the ‘decentralization’ ideal of crypto assets. In the future, as the White House’s crypto summit in 2025 advances, whether the United States can truly become the ‘world capital of crypto assets’ depends on the effectiveness of policy implementation and the rebuilding of global market trust.
