Trump Effect Fueling Rally
As the euphoria surrounding Donald Trump’s inauguration as the 47th U.S. president reached a fever pitch, bitcoin ( BTC) hit a new milestone. The top crypto asset surged past $109,000 at around 2:45 a.m. EST on Jan. 20, just hours before Trump’s inauguration. In a price action that depicts the so-called “god candle,” the cryptocurrency rose from around $102,600 to over $109,000 in a 15-minute span.
This performance capped a topsy-turvy 48 hours for the cryptocurrency, which had dropped to under $100,000 on the evening of Jan. 19. Before that, bitcoin had risen to within striking distance of its previous all-time high of $108,364 set in December 2024. Bitcoin’s resumption of a rally fueled by the “Trump Effect” came despite warnings from analysts who believed the market had already priced in the Jan. 20 inauguration.
The BTC surge also came less than 72 hours after the launch of a Trump memecoin, which has since rocketed him into the top 20 crypto assets by market capitalization. According to Coingecko data, from its launch price of around $6.54 on Jan. 18, the Trump memecoin surged to $72 within 24 hours. Although it began to gradually decline, at the time of writing 5.20 am EST, the memecoin was trading just under $60, making the incoming U.S. president the latest crypto billionaire.
The launch of the Melania Trump-themed memecoin has, however, sparked concern among Trump’s supporters, with some of his advisers, including Ryan Selkis, founder of Messari, condemning the move. Selkis argues that the launch could damage the goodwill Trump has built.
In a statement addressed to Trump, who announced the memecoin’s launch on Truth Social, Selkis said: “Please fire whoever recommended going forward with the Melania launch today. They don’t know what they’re doing, they’re costing you a lot of money and goodwill, and they don’t have your interests in mind.”
Since its launch, the $MELANIA memecoin has seen its value surge from under $0.05 to a high of $13.55, before receding. At the time of writing, the memecoin was trading at just over $11.
