Trump’s “Wild West” Crypto Era

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On the campaign trail, Trump promised to establish a “strategic Bitcoin reserve” for the country.

But what he announced on Sunday was quite different…

Over the past week Trump has made two major cryptocurrency moves that signal we are entering a new wild west era.

• #1: A new multi-asset U.S. crypto reserve will be established
• #2: The SEC has signaled a “hands-off” approach to crypto regulation

The market is still digesting these developments, but when considered together, they are potentially explosive.

Today, let’s explore the implications of these moves…

Strategic Crypto Reserve

When Trump took to X Sunday, he suggested the reserve will not just consist of Bitcoin, but other cryptocurrencies too.

The President said the reserve would include Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, Cardano, and other coins.

This was shocking to many of us, who expected the reserve would be Bitcoin-only. Bitcoin is known as “digital gold” because it shares a common purpose with bullion. It’s a scarce asset which people use as a hedge against inflation. It is large, liquid, and decentralized.

But for whatever reason, Trump and his team have decided to take a diversified approach to this new government fund.

In the aftermath of the announcement, the crypto sector soared. Cardano, the smallest coin mentioned, jumped as much as 74% in the following days. It has since pulled back a bit, but the market is still up significantly and trending higher.

It’s hard for me to believe, but the federal government may soon be buying altcoins. That apparently includes Solana, which is a “layer one” crypto, meaning other coins can be launched on top of it. Solana is where the majority of “memecoins”, like Trump’s own coin, are launched today.

A year ago, I could never have guessed that the U.S. government would be buying Solana. But here we are.

Things get even wilder once we realize that other countries could follow Trump’s lead, and establish crypto reserves of their own.

Perhaps they already are…

Trump’s “Wild West” SEC

Under Biden, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) launched a major crackdown on the crypto world.

Regulators even pressured banks to close accounts of companies and people who dealt with crypto assets. This was the notorious “Operation Choke Point 2.0”.

Under Donald Trump, the SEC and other regulators are taking a far more “hands-off” approach.

New SEC Commish Hester Peirce recently announced that “memecoins”, like the one Trump launched just before his inauguration, are not going to be regulated as securities (if you need a primer on memecoins and the TRUMP coin launch, read this).

The SEC says that memecoins are to be treated as “collectibles”, not regulated securities. So more like baseball cards than stocks.

In other words, there will be very few rules.

With this statement from the SEC, it is essentially open season for memecoins. I expect to see hundreds of influencers and celebrities launch their own coins in the near future.

This is going to be wild…

A Strange New Era

The difference between Trump and Biden, when it comes to crypto, couldn’t be more stark.

We went from a harsh anti-crypto administration to one where almost anything goes, and the government is trading altcoins. Let’s not forget that the President launched his own memecoin just 3 days before his inauguration.

Personally, I don’t think the government should be buying cryptocurrencies. I’d be happy if Uncle Sam simply held onto the Bitcoin it currently has (from confiscations), rather than selling it on the open market.

But this is where we are. As investors, we must play the cards we’re dealt. And right now, major changes are coming to the crypto world.

Bitcoin is the simplest and safest way to play this new pro-crypto administration (note that “safe” is relative here, and Bitcoin is still highly volatile).

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