As 2025 comes to a close, Donald Trump’s favorable approach to cryptocurrency has not proven to be enough to sustain the industry’s gains, once the source of market-wide optimism and enthusiasm. The last few months of the year have seen $1tn in value wiped from the digital asset market, despite bitcoin hitting an all-time-high price of $126,000 on 6 October.
The October price peak was short-lived. Bitcoin’s price tumbled just days later after Trump’s announcement of 100% tariffs on China sent shockwaves across the market on 12 October. The crypto market saw $19bn liquidated in 24 hours – the largest liquidation event on record. Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency, saw a 40% drop in price over the next month. Eric Trump’s own crypto company endured a similar drop in its value in December.
In Donald Trump, the crypto industry was delivered the pro-bitcoin president they were promised during his campaign. Within days of taking office for the second time, he issued an executive order that repealed restrictions on cryptocurrency and introduced new favorable regulations as well as a presidential working group on digital assets.
“The digital asset industry plays a crucial role in innovation and economic development in the United States, as well as our Nation’s international leadership,” the order read. He placed cryptocurrency front and center in American policy.
Again in March, Trump announced a new strategic cryptocurrency reserve that fueled a 62% rally in the market prices of three out of five of the coins named to the reserve. Bitcoin, the world’s most valuable cryptocurrency, went up 10% to $94,164 in the hours after the reserve was announced.
Interactive
Cryptocurrency is sensitive to both narratives and confidence in global markets, said Rachael Lucas, the head of marketing and communications at BTC Markets, Australia’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. It’s what is called a risk-on asset, an investment that does better when investors are feeling confident about the economy and are willing to take on more risk, Lucas said.
“The Trump administration may be pro-crypto, but tariffs and tight monetary policy outweigh positive vibes,” said Lucas. “And it’s also just a reminder, especially for people in crypto, that macro forces really matter more than political stances.”
In November, bitcoin suffered its biggest drop in price since 2021, bringing the coin’s value to less than $81,000. While bitcoin regained some of that value in the weeks after, the digital token started December with another slump, dropping 6% after Strategy, the biggest holder of bitcoin, cut its earnings forecast because of the slide in crypto prices. Bitcoin’s price now hovers near $90,000, up from years past but significantly lower than its peak.
