Trump Won…What’s Next for Crypto?
Crypto lovers everywhere cheered on Wednesday, November 6th, when they woke up to the news that Trump had secured the next presidential term beginning in 2025. But is this the saving grace for cryptocurrency they thought it would be?
Remember, prior to the election, both candidates had actually taken a pro-crypto stance, so Trump winning isn’t necessarily a big deal. Let’s take a look at what his presidency means for crypto.
Donald Trump Wins—Crypto Rallies
The immediate effect of Donald Trump winning the election is that many cryptocurrencies which were previously down have rallied, including the memecoin Dogecoin. Remember, however, that memecoins aren’t always the best reflection of the cryptocurrency industry as a whole—so don’t celebrate just yet.
This rally is due solely to speculation, which is a huge driving factor of the memecoin prices. Individuals believe that Trump will change current crypto sentiment in the United States, and thus, they have purchased pre-emptively—this does not mean you should rush out and buy any particular crypto.
Actually, the inverse is true. Because post-election emotions are running high right now, we recommend taking a step back and ensuring you are aware of the risks of any crypto investment you intend to make. And if you decide to wait and see how things shake out, that’s okay, too.
Related: The Memecoin Market: Everything You Need to Know
What Next?
Beyond the obvious rallying of certain tokens, many individuals are asking what they should do next. Our answer is this—nothing yet.
Remember, although Trump won the election, he doesn’t actually take office until January 2025, meaning we still have several weeks left of the Biden/Harris administration, and there won’t be any changes just yet.
Even when Trump does take office, it will take time for him to draft and enact policies. While Trump does typically act faster than other past US presidents, nothing will be happening on inauguration day.
What Were Trump’s Campaign Promises?
Prior to the 2024 Election, Trump promised the following items to US Citizens:
· Trump promises to deport illegal immigrants—the most in US history
· Trump says he will “end inflation”
· He says he will offer tax cuts (for wealthy corporations)
· He will increase taxes on goods from China
· Cut climate regulations
· End the Ukraine War
· End Violence in Israel
· Fire Jack Smith
· Ensure the US Government never sells its crypto holdings
· Fire Gary Gensler
· Move all Bitcoin mining to America
· Cut Federal Interest Rates
Remember, these are just campaign promises. None of these items are guaranteed to occur.
Will Trump Be Able to Hold His Campaign Promises?
In general, Trump’s campaign promises were just that—promises. He will not be able to uphold the majority of them. First and foremost, many people voted for Trump because he promised to “end inflation” and “cut interest rates,” two things he ABSOLUTELY cannot do.
We are sad for any voters who voted for him, thinking these would be a reality. These two aspects of the economy operate separately from the Presidency, and beyond that, they are mutually exclusive—meaning Trump cannot have it both ways. Raising interest rates is actually how economists work to lower inflation—meaning lowering the interest rates would only increase inflation. You can’t have it both ways.
As for the rest, there are many improbable things. For example, the promise that all Bitcoin would be mined on US soil—Trump can’t control all Bitcoin. Additionally, as Bitcoin halving events draw near, Bitcoin brings much less profit to miners so we highly doubt they will be moving to US soil anytime soon. And even if some do, others who are legal citizens of other countries won’t—because Trump also promised to deport them, remember? Making his Bitcoin and deportation promises two more mutually exclusive items on his agenda.
So, What Can Trump Do?
As you can see, we aren’t really feeling very positive about Trump living up to his promises. In fact, we know there are only a few he will be able to complete.
The major ones are firing people. We do believe Trump is capable of these things and that he will do it as soon as he is able.
Additionally, we do believe he will offer tax cuts to the rich as well as increase the import tax on foreign goods. These are two things that the President is able to decide and changes that will be relatively easy for Trump to make. They won’t help the common individual, though; in fact, we expect corporations to raise their prices and charge the average citizen even more.
Sadly, we also expect him to cut climate change regulations, as these are policies he enacted in the past as well. Also, we do expect him to pardon the imprisoned individuals from the January 6th attacks on the capital. Two things he does actually have control over.
Other than the items mentioned here, we don’t believe he will be able to make true to any of his previous promises. Especially not his cryptocurrency ones.
What Does This Mean for Crypto?
Although Trump is generally seen as a positive candidate for crypto, we encourage anyone reading this article not to do anything drastic yet. While Trump has plans to make positive moves to a more crypto-friendly America, crypto is not solely based in America. This means there and hundreds of millions of additional factors in this market that Trump cannot control.
We do hope that more cryptocurrency businesses will move to America, but we aren’t holding our breath for any crazy price or policy changes just yet. We advise anyone else reading this article to do the same because even though crypto is rallying now, economic changes during Trump’s second presidency could send it spiraling once more.
For now, we will just keep on hodling and wait to see what 2025 has in store and wait to see if Trump can actually deliver on any of his promises for crypto.
