Donald Trump Influences Crypto Markets

Donald Trump continues to flex his influence on the crypto markets as America’s “first crypto president,” with his announcements, single-handedly reversing what was starting to look like a bear market.

It was a pleasant shock to the whole ecosystem when the president revealed in a post on Truth Social that his January executive order on digital assets will lead to the US creating a stockpile of currencies. His initial announcement mentioned Ripple, Solana, and Cardano, names that had not previously been announced. An hour later, Trump added BTC and ETH, and that was all.

Crypto natives waited several more hours before concluding that President Trump was done making announcements. However, people couldn’t help but notice that Tron (TRX) did not make the cut, even though Tron’s founder, Justin Sun, has invested $75 million in World Liberty Financial (WLF), a cryptocurrency venture backed by the Trump family and has repeatedly expressed support for his crypto strategies.

TRX Excluded from Tokens for the US Strategic Reserve

One of the things that makes Donald Trump a great politician is his ability to make people chase; he knows how to control his subjects and is intuitive about how his moves affect their behavior. This skill, which has made him a successful politician, is what he’s employing as he engages with crypto giants and the infrastructure they’ve built. Since it has become evident that Trump is very much interested in crypto, founders in the space have been scrambling to find his favor, and he has been soaking up all the attention.

They expected him to create a committee to oversee the country’s involvement in crypto and also anticipated a reserve, which he has now announced. Before today, many crypto companies had begun lobbying for Trump’s attention, all aiming to gain various advantages.

Tron was one of them and went above and beyond in its attempts to prove its relevance to Trump and his associates. For instance, Sun, the founder of Tron, invested $75 million in WLF, a cryptocurrency venture with ties to the Trump family. He also became an advisor to the DeFi venture, which indicates that his relationship with the Trump-backed crypto project is not just surface-level.

World Liberty Financial reportedly holds about $9 million worth of TRX tokens, suggesting that the WLF ecosystem plans to integrate Sun’s cryptocurrency. All these facts led many to believe that TRX would be among the tokens included in the strategic crypto reserve, but it was not. Nevertheless, it seems Sun is playing the long game and has not given up hope.

Justin Sun Stays the Course Despite TRX Exclusion

All the tokens Trump named in his post on Truth Social have surged in value since the announcement. BTC went from $85,107 to $95,000, ETH rose from $2,196 to a high of $2,550, SOL rose from $140 to a high of $180, ADA went from $0.65 and reached a high of $1.18, and XRP increased from $2.22 to a high of $3.

TRX would also have benefitted from the increase if it had been mentioned but was not. After Sun’s budding relationship with Trump and WLF, many expected TRX to be part of the reserve. Yet, Sun continues to show his support for Trump.

In one tweet, Sun praised Trump’s unwavering support for the cryptocurrency industry, reaffirming Tron’s vow to support Trump’s crypto strategy as his “most loyal supporter.” He also reposted a thread from a user speculating that Trump may add TRX to the reserve soon.

Some of the reasons the user listed included the financial relationship between Tron and WLF, as well as the closeness between Sun and Trump. The user even claimed Sun is “very likely Trump’s right-hand man in the crypto industry.” They expect Trump to add TRX to the reserve, and if it happens, TRX’s price could potentially rise to a dollar.

Industry Response to Trump’s List

In the hours following Trump’s announcement regarding a national reserve, the total cryptocurrency market rose by about 10%, or more than $300 billion.

“This move signals a shift toward active participation in the crypto economy by the U.S. government,” said Federico Brokate, head of U.S. business at 21Shares, a digital assets investment management firm. “It has the potential to accelerate institutional adoption, provide greater regulatory clarity, and strengthen the U.S.’s leadership in digital asset innovation.”

While many agree with Brokate, a growing number believe BTC is the only token suitable for the reserve. One of them is James Butterfill, head of research at asset manager CoinShares, who expressed surprise at seeing digital assets other than Bitcoin included in the reserve.

“Unlike Bitcoin, these assets are more akin to tech investments,” Butterfill stated. “The announcement suggests a more patriotic stance toward the broader crypto technology space, with little regard for the fundamental qualities of these assets.”

Another voice echoing Butterfill’s sentiments is Gemini’s co-founder, Tyler Winklevoss, who believes XRP, SOL, and ADA are not “suitable” for a strategic crypto reserve. “Only one digital asset in the world right now meets the bar, and that digital asset is Bitcoin,” he stated.

While he may have a point, the probability of Trump going back on his word is low. Although the Republican president has said the reserve will be created due to his executive order, ongoing debates question whether an act of Congress will be necessary to set up the reserve.

As for the sources of the tokens for the reserve, Trump’s crypto team can either utilize cryptocurrencies seized during law enforcement actions or the U.S. Treasury’s Exchange Stabilization Fund to purchase or sell foreign currencies.