Author of the news: Crypto Emergency
The first year of Donald Trump's second term was one of the most significant for the crypto industry. His decisions impacted regulation, macroeconomics, Bitcoin dynamics, and strengthened the Trump family's presence in the crypto business.
Regulatory changes
From the first weeks, Trump took a course toward easing regulation. Key appointments — Howard Lutnick (Department of Commerce), Steven Mnuchin (Federal Reserve), Scott Bessent (Department of Finance), and Paul Atkins (SEC) — signaled a change in approach.
The administration created a working group on digital finance and ordered the formation of a strategic Bitcoin reserve from confiscated assets. Important laws were passed in the summer: the GENIUS Act for stablecoins and permission to invest 401(k) in crypto assets. The SEC suspended about 60% of cases against crypto companies, which the market perceived as a softening of the course.
By the end of the year, the regulatory agenda became less clear-cut — discussions of key bills were postponed.
Bitcoin and macroeconomics
BTC became more sensitive to the White House's policies. After the ATH update above $109,000, the market experienced several sharp corrections:
• February tariffs crashed the price below $100,000,
• in spring, BTC fell below $75,000,
• in the summer, it recovered above $100,000 amid expectations from the Fed.
By January 2026, Bitcoin is trading around $91,000 — more than 10% lower than the level a year ago.
The Trump family's crypto business
The president's family actively developed their own crypto projects:
• meme coins TRUMP and MELANIA,
• Web3 initiatives Trump Media,
• the World Liberty Financial project, which brought Trump more than $57 million,
• the participation of Eric and Donald Trump Jr. in mining, tokenization, and Web3 startups.
Political signals and pardons
The year 2025 was remembered for a series of high-profile pardons: Ross Ulbricht, co-founders of BitMEX, and Changpeng Zhao. The market perceived this as a softening of the state's attitude towards the crypto industry. However, Trump refused to consider a pardon for Sam Bankman-Fried.
Conclusion
Trump's year showed: the crypto market became closely linked to U.S. politics. Regulatory reforms, macroeconomic decisions, and the activity of the president's family formed a contradictory, yet systemic picture of the White House's influence on the digital economy.
