Donald Trump’s re-election in November 2024 proved to be an impressive bullish catalyst for the cryptocurrency market, as it swiftly led to a rally for many digital assets. This rally generated 11,000 new Bitcoin (BTC) millionaires and enabled BTC to reach above $100,000, eventually hitting its intraday all-time high (ATH) of over $109,000.
Donald Trump’s actual presidency had the opposite effect, as it led many cryptocurrencies lower as they began following other risk assets in their downturn amidst the growing economic uncertainty.
Indeed, when the billionaire took office, the total digital assets market capitalization stood at $3.46 trillion – approximately $210 billion above the January 1, 2025, valuation – and, by press time on April 21, it collapsed to $2.7 trillion.
In total, cryptocurrencies erased about $760 billion in the three months since Trump became president.
Crypto market defies bullish developments
The steep decline unfolded in defiance to the improving regulatory climate since, while digital assets were collapsing, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) abandoned multiple cases targeting the industry, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) removed its crypto rule, and the Department of Justice (DoJ) disbanded its specialized task force.
The downturn simultaneously strengthened and highlighted the growing link between digital assets and other risk assets, such as stocks, while undermining the long-speculated similarities between Bitcoin and gold.
Indeed, while BTC is down 6.53% in 2025, gold has soared to new all-time highs above $3,400 and is up 30.20% since January 1.
Still, the latest developments reignited the hopes in a continued bull cycle as, over the Easter weekend, Bitcoin rallied to $87,379 and, in the last 24 hours, the total cryptocurrency market capitalization climbed $55 billion from $2.65 trillion to $2.7 trillion.
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