Global virtual asset market shrinks as U.S. President Donald Trump takes power

When U.S. President Donald Trump, who claimed to be the "Crypto President," took power, the global virtual asset market shrank.

U.S. President Donald Trump, who claimed to be the “Crypto President,” took office and the global virtual asset market shrank.

Bitcoin plunged immediately after Trump's inauguration as it hit an all-time high, and the altcoin market recorded a bigger drop. There was also a controversy over meme coins that President Trump himself floated. However, dollar-linked stablecoins have expanded their influence in the market.

On January 20, when President Trump's inauguration was held, the market capitalization of global virtual assets reached $3.53 trillion. However, it evaporated 14.20 percent to about $3.287 trillion on the 28th of this month, just before the 100th day of his inauguration.

Bitcoin, a virtual currency leader, hit an all-time high, soaring from $102,500 on January 19 to $109,191 a day before Trump's inauguration. However, it fell to the $100,600 range shortly after taking office, and for a while, it fluctuated in the early $90,000 range.

At the much-anticipated White House Crypto Summit, the U.S. government said it would not purchase additional Bitcoin.

Bitcoin, which had risen to the $95,000 mark on the expectation of additional stockpiles at the level of the U.S. federal government, fell to the $86,000 mark immediately after the talks. Since then, when President Trump raised the tariff pressure, it has fallen to $76,873, plunging 27% from its peak price. Recently, it has continued to move sideways between $93,000 and $94,000.

Altcoins saw a bigger drop than Bitcoin. Ethereum fell 44% as of the 25th compared to President Trump's inauguration day (January 20). Solana is down 40%, while Ripple (XRP) and Dogecoin are down 23% and 49%, respectively. Bitcoin fell only 7.29% during the same period.

In particular, in the meme coin market, President Trump appeared as a party to the controversy, fueling market confusion. Just before he took office, he launched the official meme coin ‘Official Trump.’ It soared to the $44 range in two days, but plunged below $20 in about 10 days.

President Trump raised the controversy by saying that he would invite 220 top Trump holders to the White House luncheon on the 24th, undaunted by the controversy over market intervention. When the news was announced, the official Trump price soared nearly 60% in one day, but soon returned the increase and sank to the $14 level.

On the other hand, as risk aversion sentiment has strengthened, stablecoins such as Tether (USDT) and Circle (USDC) have grown their market capitalization from $131.7 billion on Trump's inauguration day to $241.9 billion. At the U.S. government level, it is also clarifying its deregulation stance and empowering dollar-based stablecoins. This is because issuers mainly use U.S. government bonds as collateral, which is also useful for the U.S. government.

Volatility is expected to continue until the Trump administration's policy direction materializes. Hong Sung-wook, a senior researcher at NH Investment & Securities, explained, "The virtual asset market has fallen since President Trump took office because of high market expectations."

However, researcher Hong said, "Bitcoin is relatively solid, clearly showing a difference from other altcoins," adding, "Although the U.S. government does not purchase Bitcoin directly yet, there are also movements at the state level and the holder base is expanding." He added, "For example, Texas' gross domestic product (GDP) is larger than Korea's GDP, where discussions on bitcoin stockpiling are active."