When Trump Speaks, Does Bitcoin Really Rally?

The remarks and policies of U.S. President Donald Trump have now become an important variable in the cryptocurrency market. In fact, since taking office, President Trump has announced pro-cryptocurrency policies several times, and cryptocurrency projects bearing the president's name have even appeared, attracting market interest.

So, in what ways is President Trump influencing the price of Bitcoin? Let's look through actual examples of how his policies and remarks have affected the cryptocurrency market.

Moments When Trump Moved the Market

1. Crypto Shopping Before the Inauguration On January 20th of last year (local time), World Liberty Financial (WLFI), a DeFi project led by the Trump family, purchased cryptocurrencies such as WBTC, ETH, TRX, AAVE, ENA, and LINK just hours before President Trump's inauguration oath. WLFI's aggressive buying was interpreted as a strong pro-cryptocurrency signal ahead of the President's official blockchain policy announcement. On this day, the price of Bitcoin rose 4.5% over 24 hours.

2. Announcement of the Cryptocurrency Task Force On January 23rd of last year, just three days after taking office, President Trump signed an executive order to establish a working group to review cryptocurrency-related policies. This executive order included contents such as blocking the possibility of introducing a U.S. Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), reorganizing digital asset policies, and strengthening U.S. leadership in the digital finance sector. This was read as an event marking the beginning of the Trump administration's pro-cryptocurrency policies, and the price of Bitcoin rose 1.34% in one day.

3. Executive Order on Bitcoin Strategic Reserve Plan In March of last year, President Trump signed an executive order to stockpile Bitcoin as a strategic asset. This policy is a structure for managing seized Bitcoins held by the U.S. government as strategic assets. A plan to stockpile digital assets including XRP, SOL, and ADA was also mentioned. However, the market reaction was calmer than expected. This was because the policy did not include a plan to newly purchase Bitcoin. After the announcement, Bitcoin actually fell slightly by 0.75%.

4. Announcement of Tariff Policies Among President Trump's policies, the case that gave the biggest shock to the market was the tariff policy. In April of last year, President Trump announced a global tariff policy called the 'Emancipation Day Tariffs.' The core of the policy was to impose a minimum 10% tariff on all countries and to grant additional tariffs based on each country's trade balance standards. Immediately after this announcement, the market shook sharply due to concerns over the possibility of a global trade war, and Bitcoin also fell 5.7%.

5. Trump's Remarks On November 5th of last year, at the American Business Forum held in Miami, President Trump said, "We are making America a Bitcoin superpower and the center of the world's cryptocurrency." However, the market reaction was not as large as expected. The response was different from when he made cryptocurrency-related remarks at the same location as a presidential candidate in 2024, which had a positive impact on Bitcoin. Bitcoin fell 1.8% in one day.

6. Resumption of 2026 Tariff Policies In February of this year, President Trump re-announced the 10% global tariff policy after the U.S. Supreme Court did not invalidate some tariff policies. This event also stimulated market instability. After the Supreme Court ruling, Bitcoin fell 0.77% and showed a further downward trend afterwards.

The Structure of How Trump's Policies Affect the Market

President Trump influences the cryptocurrency market largely through △Macroeconomic policies (tariffs, interest rates, war risks) △Cryptocurrency regulatory policies △Market sentiment and political messages. Among these, the one that has the greatest impact on actual price fluctuations is macroeconomic policy.

In the past, the cryptocurrency market reacted more sensitively to technology or industry news, but recently, its link with traditional financial markets has increased significantly. This is because, since the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs, institutional capital has flowed in earnestly, and Bitcoin is now being recognized as one of the global macroeconomic assets.

Therefore, the market no longer shakes greatly based on a politician's remarks alone. In the past, the remarks of famous figures sometimes shook the cryptocurrency market significantly. In 2021, the price of Bitcoin rose about 20% just by Tesla CEO Elon Musk adding '#Bitcoin' to his SNS profile. However, the situation is different now.

The Bitcoin market size has grown to over $1 trillion, and the market structure has also changed significantly. As institutional investors and ETF capital form the main supply and demand, the price reacts more sensitively to variables such as △Interest rate policies △Global liquidity △ETF capital flows △Geopolitical risks.

The Real Variables Investors Should Pay Attention To

What is more important than President Trump's remarks themselves is the macroeconomic environment created by the policies. In particular, the possibility of rising inflation due to tariff policies and changes in institutional capital inflows due to regulatory policies can directly affect the cryptocurrency market. If tariff policies make the global economy unstable, the entire risk asset market could come under pressure.

Conversely, if regulations are relaxed and the institutional investment environment improves, it could become a new growth engine for Bitcoin. Ultimately, the important question for investors is not 'Does Trump like Bitcoin?' but 'How do his policies change the global financial environment?'. The answer to this question is highly likely to determine the direction of the cryptocurrency market in the future.

By. Kim Jong-hyung, Coinness Content Team Editor (Image 2 Source: Getty Images)