From “not a fan” to crypto president

Bitcoin-friendly Donald Trump won and was inaugurated as the 47th president of the United States in January. However, before being officially sworn in, the commander dropped a meme coin.

Yes, you read that correctly. The Trump token running on the Solana network had a market cap of $14 billion at one point. Although it has plummeted to $1.5 billion, the move shows the new president’s enthusiasm for the digital asset space after campaigning to support Bitcoiners and the fast-moving space overall.

Trump branded himself as a crypto-friendly candidate and brought in millions of dollars ahead of a divisive election in November cash and Donation of digital assets From a Silicon Valley technology leader. And he won.

But it wasn’t always like this. President Trump used to be a staunch crypto critic. So how did we get here?

Trump’s most definitive early comments on cryptocurrencies date back to 2019. made it clear He didn’t like Bitcoin.

“I’m not a fan of Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies. It’s not money and its value is highly volatile and based on thin air.” said Before hitting him on Twitter at the time Facebook plans For digital currencies.

“The United States only has one real currency, and it’s stronger than ever, both trustworthy and reliable,” he added. “It’s the most dominant currency anywhere in the world and always will remain that way. It’s called the US dollar!”

playing cards repetition His belief that Bitcoin Bull was executed in 2021. “Bitcoin seems like a scam,” he said fox businessreiterates that he wanted the dollar to be the world’s top currency.

Enter the world of NFTs

It took him a long time to explicitly say he liked top cryptocurrencies, and the journey began with an unlikely crypto craze: NFT collectibles.

By the end of 2021, after Trump leaves the White House, his wife Melania announcement her plan Solana– Based NFT collection. Solana Labs clearly It had nothing to do with the collection being launched on the blockchain, Trump continued. slam cipher Despite his wife’s venture as “dangerous”.

However, the following year, the commander launched his own NFT collection. Minted on Ethereum Scaling Network polygonthe digital trading card collection was the first rid lol– but it still sold out quickly and made millions of dollars.

Trump later said He just launched the collection because he thought it was “kind of cute.” he has since Release More collections on Polygon, and even minted some of the third set of Bitcoins via the Order Protocol. The fourth collection, launched in August 2024, launched with the largest number of NFTs to date, although less than 10% of the total available was ultimately minted.

Trump even claimed that the success of his NFT collection and the surprising number of buyers who used cryptocurrencies rather than fiat currencies helped change his perspective on Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.

Digital wallet tied to president by blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence shows he has Raised millions of people NFTS Royalties holds some of the largest unofficial Trump meme coins that were likely sent to wallets without Trump’s knowledge or consent.

trump code hug

But it was last year that Trump really elevated the Procrypt story. “I make money from it, I enjoy it too,” Trump says. said Interview with CNBC in March 2024 squaw box. “Crazy new currencies, that’s what I call them.”

Later, while hosting NFT holders at his Mar-A-Lago resort in May 2024, he said Crowd he was “good” in code. And he accused Biden and Democrats of being “against it.” Many considered this event a turning point Crypto Policy Conversations.

rumor spread That month, Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and the biggest donor to the Trump campaign, was advising presidential hopefuls on crypto strategy. (Musk denied the report.) That July, Republicans issued a draft party platform that explicitly mentioned Crypto.

rear survive an assassination The endeavor, business mogul and former reality TV star, won Musk’s public favor and garnered support from many other prominent names in the digital assets field. And major crypto figures like the Winklevos Twins of Gemini and Kraken founder Jesse Powell have donated significant amounts to Trump.

Trump then selected Sen. J.D. Vance as his running mate of choice, and his vice president at the time procrypt candidate It had previously disclosed Bitcoin holdings of $100,000 to $250,000 in 2021.

But the most concrete sign of Trump’s crypto embrace is that he spoke At the 2024 Bitcoin Conference in Nashville, Tennessee. There, he promised the crowd that he would build a “strategic Bitcoin stockpile” for the country and that his plan was to turn the United States into the “crypto capital of the planet.”

The Trump family was then teased Decentralized finance (defi) The project is called World Liberty Financial, and Trump himself has posted multiple social media teasers during the initial rollout.

The president’s son Donald Jr. said the crypto platform will be egalitarian. “For too long, average Americans have been squeezed into big banks and the financial elite. It’s time for us to take a stand. said Twitter (also known as X).

Then the next day second attempt Trump in his life Release Project during a live interview with Rug Radio (decryptionsister company). world liberty financial It aims to provide borrowing and lending services for cryptocurrencies on the Ethereum network.

As Crypto Token launches go, the project was something of a flop right out of the gate, only managing to sell 4% of its allocated tokens during the launch. However, the sale ticked well ahead of Trump’s inauguration, with the remaining allocation sold out on January 20th. He returned to the White House. decryption Later, the World Liberty Financial Project reported that it had launched its own Stablecoin.

The Republican also has more crypto people on his team. Bitcoin bull Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has stopped campaigning for Trump and joined Trump’s transition team. He is currently the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. Orange Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick was part of Trump’s political squad and currently serves as Secretary of Commerce.

Elsewhere, Dogecoin fan Elon Musk led the Office of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a program to cut budgets and cut jobs across the government. He has since stepped down from the role amid a messy public breakup with Trump.

Crypto Ambitions Grow

Trump last year became the first current or former president of the United States as we know it. I bought something using Bitcoin.

“It’s the beginning of a new era,” he said, referring to the digital asset industry. And it wasn’t just a story. On January 17th, he launched a meme coin that runs on Solana. The token is currently one of the most valuable meme coins in existence.

The launch of the Trump token has been widely criticized by politicians and analysts, with some seeing it as a potential avenue for corruption. But while prices have fallen sharply from their peak, we continue to see demand for deals, including in April when Trump revealed plans to hold an exclusive dinner for top holders.

Trump’s exclusive dinner – which he hosted in May for the top 220 owners of meme coins – was a quaint event. decryptionand the president only made a brief appearance. VIP attendees, who received a special tour along with access to the event, won an average of $4.8 million worth of playing cards for winning the top spot at the party.

But the Republican has actually pledged other, more serious campaigns in his few months in office. He created a strategic Bitcoin sanctuary and became the first president to sign crypto-related legislation.

Trump’s SEC has also thrown out a number of lawsuits against crypto companies from previous administrations, and his family has moved on with their own, albeit controversial, crypto ventures. Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump launched America’s Bitcoin.

The Trump sons also plan to launch a crypto wallet through the Global Liberty Financial Project. Initially, the Trump Meme Coin team said it would launch its own Trump-themed wallet, but those plans were canceled after a public (but short-lived) dispute with Eric, Baron, and Don Jr. (who, interestingly, appears to have reduced World Liberty’s stake)

More symbolically, Trump and his family have spoken against the big banks and what they consider censorship. By executive order in August, the President Prohibited The exodus of crypto-related companies was watched along with industry leaders who had previously complained about being mistreated by the Tradfi world.

In March, Trump’s media company Trump Media and Technology Group signed a deal with Crypto.com to provide ETFs to the team. Trump Media itself plans to invest its own money in the product. The companies then partnered to launch Crypto.com’s Treasury of Cronos (CRO) tokens. This is also used on the Trump Media Truth social platform. On top of that, Trump Media purchased $2 billion worth of Bitcoin and related securities in July after raising billions to do so.

Trump’s critics claim the president’s digital asset ventures constitute a conflict of interest. Silicon Valley Bigwigs says he’s a pro. But one thing is for sure. President Trump is all-in on crypto, shrugging off his past views on the industry.

And he gained many fans in the process. Some of them temporarily erected a golden statue of Trump holding Bitcoin in Washington, D.C. in September.

Editor’s note: This story was originally published on July 19, 2024 and was last updated with new information on October 5, 2025.