Wed, April 30, 2025 – The Trump administration’s first 100 days have profoundly shaped the cryptocurrency field. Their overall evaluation appears to be mixed, some going as far as to negatively characterize the account, with comments such as one expert allegedly calling it the “95 worst days of modern presidential history.” While there was bold commitment accompanied by concrete steps, the controversies surrounding ethics and trade policy for the administration sustained some of the so-called advances and heightened apprehensions for the sector’s future.
Crypto-Friendly Task Force
As of the 20th January inauguration day, Trump has seemingly placed the crypto domain at the forefront of his priorities. Various strategic administration positions have been filled with people perceived as crypto-friendly, such as replacing Gary Gensler at the SEC with Paul Atkins. David Sacks has reportedly been designated as ‘crypto and AI czar,’ while it is claimed that Brian Quintenz now heads the CFTC. Reportedly, the intention to turn the United States into “the global crypto capital” was underpinned by a presidential order constituting an internal task group for cryptos.
Strategic Reserve and CDBD Bar
Alongside the constitution of the crypto task force came the instruction not to set up a central bank digital currency (CBDC) for the United States.
The decision regarding a “digital dollar” has created controversy within the crypto community, where it is seen as potentially increasing state surveillance. Additionally, on March 7, President Trump supposedly fulfilled one of his campaign promises by establishing a “Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.” But this initiative, according to reports, has proved to be less ambitious than expected. The report suggests that the reserve would not involve direct government purchases of bitcoin and would instead only aim to gather seized cryptocurrencies, with the possibility of additional purchases only if budget neutrality is guaranteed.
Trade Wars Have Altered the Landscape of Crypto Markets
President Trump’s foreign policy has reportedly placed a heavy burden on the crypto industry. For instance, in early February, the announcement of steep tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China sharply restricted the flow of trade and caused an immediate downturn in the crypto market. The situation is reported to have worsened on April 2—‘Liberation Day,’ an unofficial holiday marking a day when Trump claimed to have removed a multitude of restrictions. On that day, he supposedly placed a 10% tax on all countries the U.S. trades with, which gave rise to concerns of a looming recession; put simply, the policy has directly contributed to the digital market crash.
Economic Consequences Cited
Alongside worsening economic conditions for the crypto trades, America’s former director of communications, Anthony Scaramucci, has come out with a rather harsh analysis of the perceived impact.
Scaramucci allegedly claimed that “the stock market lost 9 trillion dollars” and that the economy “is now heading toward a medium-sized, if not deep, recession.”
Contour of Revenue Challenges
Bitcoin miners in the United States are reportedly struggling the most from the operating cost inflation. This is especially true for the acquisition of new mining equipment that reportedly comes with steep taxes due to the prevailing tariff. This claimed situation is eroding their profitability amidst strong competition in the mining space, adding strain to a critical part of the American crypto ecosystem.
Legal Issues and Ethical Considerations
The crypto ecosystem has reportedly sparked intense controversies concerning the personal connection of President Trump to the crypto world. This controversy, attributed to a lack of legislative progress, arose when the Trump family project WLFI raised controversial ethical concerns after announcing a purchasable stablecoin on March 25, just days after blueprints surfaced for raising over half a billion dollars. American lawmakers have placed the Trump family under investigation due to conflict of interest claims regarding the presidency alongside dealing in such financial projects. The situation reportedly worsened on April 25 with rumors that major Trump memecoin holders could dine with the holding son at 3 hundred thousand dollars.
While the administration is said to have denied these allegations, they purportedly caused Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff to ‘strongly’ back the impeachment of the president.
Controversies Undermine Advancement
Scaramucci claims that these controversies undermine business policy progress within the region. Quoting Scaramucci: ‘Trump has inflamed all this so much that he made it even harder to implement legislation on stablecoins.’
With Challenges, Legislative Progress Achieved
As noted by the source, there are still ‘notable advances’ in the crypto legislative framework despite the challenges and controversies. Also acknowledged is the STABLE Act, which reportedly passed in committee on April 3 and now awaits a general vote before it is sent to the Senate. This shows there is still legislative progress being made despite the complex myriad of issues the administration has with the crypto sector. To close, the first 100 days of the Trump presidency on U.S. crypto policy pose complex challenges blended with partial hopeful optimism. Even with the administration’s intention to fiercely stimulate the sector, important groundwork for sector development is often overshadowed by ethical controversies and the consequences of the trade war as advanced speculation and apprehension dominate the outlook on U.S. crypto policy and industry.
