Recently, a year of Trump’s presidency has passed. Despite a year of deregulation in the United States, cryptocurrencies lost value during the first term of U.S. President Donald Trump.
Initially, a positive change for cryptocurrencies was expected, but investors recorded more losses than gains. The biggest beneficiary of deeper integration of crypto with traditional finance turned out to be the President himself.
Trump's Presidency Year: Optimism for Cryptocurrencies in Washington
The cryptocurrency community entered January 2025 with high expectations as Trump prepared to return to the White House.
During his campaign, he called himself the 'Bitcoin president' and promised to make the United States the global capital of crypto. These declarations increased industry optimism. It rose even further when Trump launched his own memecoin just two days before his inauguration.
Trump has partially fulfilled these promises.
He almost immediately appointed a 'crypto czar' and installed a crypto-friendly head at the helm of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). He also signed the Genius Act, the first federal regulation covering part of the cryptocurrency market.
Expectations have been rather moderate from the beginning.
Years of criticism of the SEC led by Gensler and its regulation through enforcement strategy made the industry hope for any change in approach.
Trump has consistently supported crypto. During this year's World Economic Forum in Davos, he again declared support and referred to expectations for the possible passage of the Clarity Act.
Nevertheless, as Trump praised the successes of his administration, the cryptocurrency market continued to decline, and prices trended downward.
Cryptocurrency prices are falling despite progress in regulations.
According to BeInCrypto's analysis, all major cryptocurrencies recorded negative returns over the year. At the time of writing, Bitcoin had dropped by 13.4% since January, and Ethereum lost nearly 9%.
Other altcoins performed significantly worse.
XRP from Ripple fell by 39%, SOL from Solana by about 50%, and ADA from Cardano by 63%.
These numbers show that despite regulatory progress in 2025, other factors continue to weigh on the market.
Similar to the stock exchanges, Trump's tariff policy has heavily influenced expectations of long-term growth. Despite significant structural changes, crypto remains mainly a speculative asset. During times of uncertainty, this market usually absorbs negative effects first.
After the April announcement of tariffs on Liberation Day, Bitcoin fell to $76,300, its lowest level since November 2024. On October 10, following the announcement of a 100% return tariff on China, Bitcoin dropped by 8%–10% in a single session. The broader market recorded billions of USD in liquidations.
The tariff policy itself did not cause all this volatility.
Additional pressures, including repeated undermining of the Fed's independence and geopolitical tensions, have further increased market volatility.
It remains unclear whether the administration will maintain the current course. If so, some investors may revise the relationship between regulatory support and macroeconomic risk.
However, not everyone has recorded losses. Trump and his family have become particularly visible beneficiaries of the sector's growth.
Presidential gains during a larger market downturn.
Trump's investment portfolio diversified in the last year, with a significant portion shifting towards cryptocurrency-related ventures.
These initiatives include a meme cryptocurrency with his name and a decentralized financial platform, World Liberty Financial. Members of his family also participated, launching projects together or independently.
When cryptocurrency valuations were falling, Trump's personal wealth went in the opposite direction.
According to the latest Bloomberg analysis, the Trump family generated about $1.4 billion through cryptocurrency-related activities. Currently, digital assets constitute over 20% of the entire family wealth.
These ventures did not go unnoticed.
The administration has been repeatedly asked about potential conflicts of interest, although Trump continues to develop these projects.
As scrutiny increases and investors lose more, the scale of Trump's cryptocurrency wealth clearly contrasts with the experience of many traders whose portfolios have suffered greatly over the past year.
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