Crypto Market Retraces as Trump Skips Mention in Inaugural Speech

The crypto market experienced a turbulent day on Monday, January 20, as President Donald Trump's inauguration speech failed to mention cryptocurrencies, leading to a significant sell-off across the market. High expectations for a crypto-friendly presidency were dashed when Trump's address did not include any mention of digital currencies, triggering sharp price drops and substantial liquidations across the market.

Bitcoin BTC/USD, which had been riding a wave of optimism ahead of the inauguration, dropped from $106,000 to $101,000 during Trump's speech before stabilizing around $103,000. Among altcoins, Solana SOL/USD, which had been central to the weekend's Trump-affiliated meme coin frenzy, fell nearly 10% from its lifetime high. The newly launched TRUMP TRUMP/USD meme coin, released on Friday, saw an immediate plunge, falling 30% from $50 during Trump's address. Although it partially recovered, it remained down over 44% at last check Monday, trading at around $39.88. The Melania MELANIA/USD meme coin, launched a day after TRUMP, fared worse, plummeting 46% before rebounding slightly.



The volatility wiped out over $700 million in leveraged crypto positions on Monday alone, with nearly $500 million-worth of those liquidations coming from traders betting on price increases. Including the selloff that began overnight before the inauguration, the total liquidation across digital assets surpassed $1.2 billion in 24 hours—the largest leverage flush this year.

The wild swings of the meme coins have also attracted criticism from key political figures. Nic Carter, a founding partner of a crypto investment firm, called the meme coin launch "preposterous," while Congresswoman Maxine Waters criticized it for "tainting the crypto industry" and exposing the need for proper regulation. This has led to concern for advocates within the industry that the volatile meme coins may hurt the public perception of legitimate digital assets and push regulators to act aggressively against digital assets.



The absence of a crypto mention in Trump's speech has led to a shift in market perception regarding his administration's stance on cryptocurrencies. Traders and investors had high expectations for a crypto-friendly presidency, as Trump had previously promised to make the U.S. the "crypto capital of the planet" and the "Bitcoin superpower of the world." However, the lack of any mention of cryptocurrencies in his inaugural address has caused a significant sell-off across the market, with Bitcoin BTC/USD dropping from $106,000 to $101,000 during the speech before stabilizing around $103,000. Among altcoins, Solana SOL/USD, which had been central to the weekend's Trump-affiliated meme coin frenzy, fell nearly 10% from its lifetime high. The newly launched TRUMP TRUMP/USD meme coin, released on Friday, saw an immediate plunge, falling 30% from $50 during Trump's address. This sell-off has wiped out over $700 million in leveraged crypto positions on Monday alone, with nearly $500 million-worth of those liquidations coming from traders betting on price increases. This volatility has also attracted criticism from key political figures, with Nic Carter, a founding partner of a crypto investment firm, calling the meme coin launch "preposterous," and Congresswoman Maxine Waters criticizing it for "tainting the crypto industry" and exposing the need for proper regulation. This has led to concern for advocates within the industry that the volatile meme coins may hurt the public perception of legitimate digital assets and push regulators to act aggressively against digital assets.