Pakinomist– Bitcoin fell on Monday, reversing course after a weekend rally, as increased market volatility in the wake of two memecoin launches by President-elect Donald Trump dampened sentiment in crypto markets.
Traders were also on edge ahead of Trump’s inauguration later on Monday, when the president-elect is expected to sign a flurry of executive orders outlining policy changes. But exactly what those changes would entail remained unclear, though Trump has promised more crypto-friendly policies during his tenure.
fell 2.5% to $102,481.9 by 12:28 a.m. ET (05:28 GMT).
Trump, Melania memecoin volatility curbs crypto appetite
Crypto markets initially cheered the launch of Trump’s memecoin, $TRUMP, which accelerated sharply since its launch on Friday. The token was seen growing over 7000% within hours of its launch and achieved a market cap of over $14 billion.
But the token was then exposed to large profit takings and fell sharply from the weekend highs.
Trump was also disappointed to launch a new memecoin themed around future first lady Melania Trump, $MELANIA, with crypto traders raising some concerns about the ethical implications of Trump leveraging his political status to turn speculative markets in his favor.
The launch of $TRUMP, of which the president-elect holds a significant number of tokens, significantly increased his personal wealth, at least on paper.
Trump policies in focus as inauguration looms
Trump is set to take office from 12:00 ET (17:00 GMT) on Monday.
The president-elect has promised to hand out crypto-friendly regulations during his second term and has vowed to make America the “crypto capital” of the world.
While Trump nominated several pro-crypto candidates for key regulatory positions, markets were uncertain about what policies he will outline, as some of his more ambitious promises, such as a Bitcoin Strategic Reserve, could require congressional approval.
Uncertainty about the impact of Trump’s policies on the broader economy, especially given his tough stance on immigration and trade, kept risk appetite muted.
Crypto Price Today: Altcoins Track Bitcoin Losses
Broader crypto prices tracked losses in Bitcoin as they also lost steam from a weekend rally.
World no. 2 crypto fell 0.3% to $3,287.29, while it fell 3.4% to $3.0939.
and fell between 5% and 11%, while among meme tokens lost 7.5%.
