One Year After Trump Inauguration: Bitcoin Down 15%, Many Altcoins Plunge 40–90%
One year after Donald Trump’s inauguration, the crypto market is broadly weaker despite early hopes that a ‘crypto-friendly’ administration would spur gains. CoinGecko price data (since Jan 20, 2025) shows Bitcoin (BTC) is down about 15% year‑over‑year, trading near $91,000 after peaking above $126,000 in October 2025. Ethereum (ETH) is down roughly 8%, near $3,100 after an August 2025 peak near $5,000. Major altcoins fared worse: XRP is down nearly 40% to just below $2.00, Solana (SOL) is down over 50% to about $129, and other large-caps have declined 50–60%. Mid-cap tokens fell 70–80% and small-cap/meme coins collapsed roughly 90%, according to analyst Ted Pillows. Market optimism following Trump’s November 2024 election—based on expectations of regulatory clarity and pro-crypto appointments like SEC Chair Paul Atkins—was undermined by macro and geopolitical factors. Tariff threats and trade policy volatility drove spikes in liquidations (about $871 million in one day after announced tariffs on European nations), weighing on market momentum. The coverage underscores that political support alone has not insulated crypto prices from broad market corrections and macro shocks.
Bearish
The article describes broad, multi-tiered declines across crypto assets—BTC down ~15%, ETH ~8%, major altcoins 40–60%, mid/small caps and meme tokens far worse—driven not by idiosyncratic crypto events but by macro and geopolitical volatility tied to trade policy and tariff threats. That pattern typically increases risk-off sentiment among traders, reduces liquidity for smaller tokens, and raises liquidation risk during spikes. Short-term impact: heightened volatility, increased liquidation cascades, and rotation into perceived safe-haven assets or stablecoins; day traders and leveraged positions face elevated risk. Medium-to-long-term impact: political support alone (pro-crypto appointments) has proven insufficient to sustain a bull market when macro stressors persist; recovery will likely depend on clearer regulatory outcomes, diminished geopolitical risk, and restored macro stability. Historical parallels include crypto drawdowns coinciding with macro shocks (eg. 2018 equity sell-offs, 2022 macro tightening) where large-caps recovered first while small-caps lagged. Traders should reduce leverage, watch liquidation levels and on-chain flows, and favor large-cap liquidity and dollar-cost averaging until volatility subsides.