Was Trump’s Inauguration Day the Beginning of the End for Bitcoin?

With many uncertainties regarding the state of the cryptocurrency market after last week’s events, the question arises whether there was a particular point in time that could have signaled the beginning of the end.

If we assume that this bull market cycle has come to a halt, which is very speculative, to say the least, can it all lead to January 20 – Trump’s inauguration day? Was that the ultimate ‘sell-the-news’ date?

Was That the Signal?

Financial markets, and especially crypto, are often moved by rumors instead of the actual news and the subsequent implementations. In the more recent BTC history, recall that the asset had neared $50,000 in early January 2024 on anticipation of the launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs in the States.

The products were expected to be a big deal and they became such, but BTC tumbled below $40,000 once they went live. It took weeks to recover the losses and months to break BTC’s 2021 all-time high.

Let’s go back to another peak registered in April 2021, which also solidifies the aforementioned theory. Bitcoin’s surge above $60,000 came on the heels of Coinbase going public. Once it became a reality, BTC crashed below $30,000 in the next weeks, and it took months, until November, to break past its then-record.

The ETFs in 2024 marked the start of a new bull cycle, according to some, but bitcoin’s price moves had calmed at around $60,000 for months on the way to the US elections. Even the halving couldn’t shake the consolidation off.

However, Trump’s dozens of pro-crypto promises and his landslide win in the elections brought the hype back and BTC, alongside many altcoins, skyrocketed. In fact, the months leading to his inauguration were among the best for the crypto market in its history, as BTC even managed to break above $100,000 and peaked at over $109,000 on January 20 – yes, the day Trump was sworn into office.

In the following month and a half, BTC’s price lost nearly 30% of its value and crashed to $78,000 on Friday. In fact, Trump has received much of the blame due to his controversial tariffs against numerous countries as well as his actions in the Ukraine-Russia war.

So, was that inauguration day the beginning of the end?

What’s Next?

Now, let’s assume that the bull market is not over. Crashes like the aforementioned one are nothing new to bitcoin and crypto. But if the bull cycle is to be resumed soon, what could be the propeller?

Well, the safe bet was to go back to the source of most moves that happened since November – Donald J. Trump. Some of his many promises included making the US a bitcoin and crypto hub, as well as stopping the sales of confiscated BTC and incorporating it in the country’s national reserves.

Senator Lummis has consistently urged for this and believes the US will be the leader. Should that indeed happen, even though Fed Chair Jerome Powell remains skeptical, to say the least, it could give BTC a huge price boost.

Improving inflation rates and interest rate cuts could also benefit bitcoin and crypto, as well as reduced trade war and actual war tension. Not sure how those are going to play out, though, given Trump’s most recent actions.