Few topics are as polarizing in the crypto industry as politics. Although Donald Trump is often referred to as “America’s first crypto president,” the Biden administration is known to be hostile to the crypto industry.
But when the rhetoric is stripped away and replaced with market data, the picture becomes more nuanced. The important question is not which administration spoke more favorably about cryptocurrencies, but rather under whose leadership Bitcoin ultimately performed better.
Bitcoin performance: The numbers speak loud and clear
In the 2024 US presidential election, Trump has positioned himself as a pro-cryptocurrency candidate, vowing to make the US the “crypto capital of the world.” He promised to end anti-crypto activities and curb SEC enforcement, and in his own words:
“By ending Joe Biden’s crypto wars, we will ensure that the future of crypto and the future of Bitcoin is made in America.”
This increased optimism in the market and raised expectations for a bull market. Fast forward to near the end of 2025 and Bitcoin is down nearly 5%.
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By comparison, the world’s largest cryptocurrency rose about 65% in Biden’s first year in office. Although performance slowed in 2022, momentum returned the following year.
Bitcoin rebounded strongly, gaining about 155% in 2023 and another 120.7% in 2024.
Analysts who analyzed President Trump’s first term noted that it was the largest crypto bull market in history, during which the market capitalization of cryptocurrencies increased approximately 115 times from the start of his term to the end.
“Biden’s term has delivered a 4.5x return from start to finish, never falling below the beginning of the year even at its worst moments. Trump’s second term has so far been below the beginning of the year, but he has three years left,” the anonymous analyst wrote.
Bitcoin under Trump
So what actually happened this year? This pullback can’t be understood just by looking at the headline 2025 return.
The momentum in January was mostly on Bitcoin’s side. Ahead of President Trump’s inauguration, BTC rose above $109,000, hitting a new high at the time. Progress has also been made on the regulatory front, with the SEC establishing a task force to provide a transparent regulatory framework for digital assets.
Nevertheless, Trump’s next move erased all these gains. Cryptocurrency markets fell along with stocks after he announced tariffs on the EU and later expanded them on Liberation Day.
What is noteworthy is that the announcement of the suspension led to a gradual recovery. This highlighted the market’s sensitivity to broader macroeconomic trends and pointed to increased volatility.
Meanwhile, adoption continued to increase as state-level Bitcoin reserve efforts and institutional involvement increased. Bitcoin prices continued their upward trend, recording positive returns for four consecutive months from April to July.
A key trend during this period was the emergence of digital asset vaults (DATs). Following the strategy popularized by Micro (Strategy), public companies have increasingly started adopting Bitcoin as a reserve asset.
Bitcoin benefited from this change, as many experts argued that institutional investor involvement could help reduce volatility and signal the asset’s maturity in traditional finance.
As confidence increased, so did risk appetite and leverage. High-risk, high-leverage traders attracted widespread attention. On the macroeconomic front, the Federal Reserve cut interest rates in September. This was also a bullish factor for risk assets.
Bitcoin hit a new all-time high in October, peaking at $125,761 on October 6th. Many are predicting further upside, with the goal by the end of the year expected to be in the $185,000 to $200,000 range.
This optimism was supported by favorable macroeconomic catalysts and Bitcoin’s historically strong performance in the fourth quarter.
BeInCrypto reported that the market fell after President Trump announced 100% tariffs on China on October 11th. More than $19 billion in leveraged positions were wiped out, resulting in huge losses for many traders.
A widespread recession continued for several months and was further exacerbated by leverage.
“This also appears to be a structural and mechanical recession. It all started with institutional outflows in mid-to-late October. The first week of November saw $1.2 billion in outflows from crypto funds. The problem is these outflows, plus excessive levels of leverage…excessive levels of leverage are creating a seemingly oversensitive market,” the Covisi Letter said in November.
Bitcoin fell 17.67% in November and has since lost an additional 1.7% in value this month, according to data from Coinglass.
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From Bitcoin ETFs to Altcoins: Regulatory Changes and Market Reactions
The Trump and Biden administrations differed on several key issues, one of which was crypto ETFs. Under the Biden administration, the SEC initially took a much more cautious approach to the crypto sector. This stance extends to crypto ETFs as well.
However, the regulatory position has changed following a ruling by the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit, which ordered the SEC to reconsider Grayscale Investments’ application to convert its flagship GBTC fund into a spot Bitcoin ETF.
Therefore, the SEC approved a Bitcoin spot ETF in January 2024, followed by an Ethereum spot ETF in July.
Notably, after Gary Gensler left the SEC, asset managers quickly filed multiple applications for altcoin ETFs. Companies such as Bitwise, 21 Capital and Canary Capital have applied to launch various crypto-based investment products.
In September, the SEC approved generic listing standards, eliminating the need for separate approvals. Following this change, ETFs linked to assets such as SOL, HBAR, XRP, LTC, LINK, and DOGE entered the market.
In November, Canary Capital’s XRP ETF reached $58.6 million in first-day trading volume, ranking it as the strongest debut among over 900 ETFs launched in 2025. Bitwise’s Solana ETF also attracted significant interest, reaching $56 million in trading volume on its first day, while other products posted relatively low trading volumes.
From a regulatory perspective, ETFs have expanded market access and this ruling reduces barriers for issuers. However, early performance data suggests that the introduction of additional crypto ETFs has not yet led to a proportionate increase in total inflows into the market.
In 2024, Spot Bitcoin ETFs had approximately $35.2 billion in net inflows. Inflows into Bitcoin ETFs slowed to $22.16 billion in 2025, according to SoSoValue data. This divergence suggests that the increase in ETF offerings may have coincided with a reallocation of capital across products rather than an increase in total cryptocurrency exposure.
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Inside the Trump family’s crypto empire
Donald Trump is clearly influencing the market, but he has also become directly involved in the crypto space. In January, the president introduced meme coins, and soon after Melania Trump introduced a similar token.
In March, US President Donald Trump’s son Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. partnered with Hut8 to launch American Bitcoin, Inc.
These businesses brought great wealth to the president of the United States and his family. According to a Reuters analysis, they earned more than $800 million from crypto sales in the first half of 2025 alone.
Some might argue that these moves have helped legitimize the sector and accelerate adoption. Still, Trump’s direct and indirect involvement in crypto-related ventures raises concerns about the optics, governance, and market health. Meme coins are not new to the cryptocurrency space, but their association with a sitting U.S. president is unprecedented.
These activities have drawn harsh criticism from regulators and users alike. Trump Meme Coin, WLFI, and American Bitcoin Corporation all suffered significant declines, resulting in significant losses for their supporters.
conclusion
Taken together, the data suggests that the answer to who helped crypto the most depends on how “help” is defined. Under the Trump administration, cryptocurrencies have benefited from less regulation, less enforcement pressure, and faster approval of new investment products.
These changes have lowered barriers for issuers and expanded market access.
However, market performance tells a different story. Bitcoin’s biggest rally came during Joe Biden’s presidency.
Meanwhile, President Trump’s first year in office has been marked by heightened volatility.
