Trump's Return to the White House Was Supposed to Transform Crypto - It Hasn't Quite Worked Out That Way

output: Among the topics that Donald Trump campaigned on ahead of the 2024 election was the promise to bring back crypto to new all-time highs.

That pledge sparked surges early in the year, including brief all-time highs across major tokens. But for much of 2025, that promise has fallen flat.

As Trump’s return sparked some stellar rallies in crypto early in 2025, investors have largely grown accustomed to the sight of major tokens threatening all-time highs before running out of steam.

Indeed, while Bitcoin and altcoins did not sustain any sustained moves to fresh highs throughout 2025, they did record some stellar gains.

Bitcoin price today is up more than 5% over the past seven days to nearly $103,000. At the time of writing, on Friday afternoon, it trades in the positive territory.

Its gains come amid a broader recovery in risk appetite, as the Fed held rates steady, and a slew of earnings reports helped to stabilize Wall Street's mood.

Later this week, Trump announced a tentative first trade deal with Vietnam, which also contributed to the upbeat market closed.

In crypto, investors are also tracking a surprising comeback by Ether. The second-largest token surged as high as 25% this week, to trade at $2,300 at last check. That took the token to its best level since March.

Solana also recorded triple-digit gains this week, with the token climbing 13% to $169. XRP and BNB also posted some stellar gains.

ETH price is surging

A mix of news helped to spark buying interest in Ethereum this week, including reports of large institutional inflows into the world’s second-biggest cryptocurrency.

Those reports come as part of a broader narrative that institutions are becoming increasingly interested in crypto, especially in the wake of the recent market downturn.

However, also fueling the interest in ETH is the role of meme coins in Trump's presidency.

According to a recent report by Bloomberg, a new scrutiny is growing over the so-called “Trump Coin,” a meme token that has been linked to foreign buyers and potential campaign finance violations.

“Buyers of the Trump token, a cryptocurrency the president began promoting days before his inauguration, drove sales higher in the past two weeks after its issuers announced an unprecedented promotion: More than 200 of the memecoin’s largest holders would be invited to attend a May 22 dinner with Trump at his Virginia golf club, while the top 25 would qualify for an exclusive reception beforehand and what the memecoin’s website describes as a ‘VIP’ tour.”

Even by meme-coin standards, tying ownership to private access to the U.S. President smacks of something smellier usual, begs the question: What kind of players seek access in such a way and why?