Bitcoin in the Donald Trump era: 100 days that changed the game
IT'S been 100 days since Donald Trump returned to the White House, and already his second term is reshaping the global financial landscape - with Bitcoin a major part of the disruption.
Trump's first 100 days have been a whirlwind for crypto markets. In an unprecedented move, his administration signed an executive order establishing a US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve in early March.
This reserve, seeded with approximately 200,000 BTC - assets previously seized by the government - positions Bitcoin not merely as a speculative asset or store of value, but now, astonishingly, as part of US national reserves.
It’s a stunning pivot. Once dismissed by most US policymakers as a tool for criminals or libertarian dreamers, Bitcoin’s been catapulted into the geopolitical arena by Trump’s aggressive embrace of digital assets.
The stated goal is to solidify America’s leadership in what Trump calls “monetary innovation,” and to prevent rivals, including China and Russia, from dominating the decentralized financial future.
The implications for investors are vast. Bitcoin’s price, already buoyed by interest rate optimism and institutional inflows, surged past $95,000 in late April after briefly dipping to $76,000.
This swing reflects both excitement and caution. Volatility remains intrinsic to the asset class, but the political tailwinds, which now include tax incentives for Bitcoin custody firms and relaxed federal banking restrictions, have changed the trajectory entirely.
Markets understand what’s happening. This is no longer just about the next halving cycle or ETF approval. It’s about a sitting US president, the world’s most powerful man, reordering the financial system in real time - and choosing Bitcoin as a tool of statecraft.
Trump’s executive order was more than symbolic. It triggered a cascade of structural changes across regulatory bodies.
Leadership shifts at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) have all signalled the same thing: the brakes are off. Banks can now engage in Bitcoin-related activity without seeking prior approval.
Crypto custodians are being welcomed into the regulatory fold, not pushed out of it.
Unsurprisingly, the institutional money has followed. Twenty One Capital — a new digital asset fund backed by heavyweights including SoftBank and Tether — recently launched a $3.6 billion Bitcoin acquisition program. The fund acquired 42,000 BTC in its first wave. This is just one visible example of a deeper pattern: institutions that once hesitated to go all-in on Bitcoin are now scrambling to stake their claims, emboldened by the clearest pro-crypto policy environment the US has ever seen.
But not everyone is celebrating.
Critics, including prominent voices from within the Bitcoin community, warn that government control over massive BTC reserves could distort the very foundation of decentralization. If a central authority begins using Bitcoin as a political weapon or a macroeconomic lever, what happens to the ethos of independence that underpins the network? Can Bitcoin remain politically neutral if it becomes state-owned and state-deployed?
That question isn’t theoretical anymore.
The debate over Bitcoin’s future now runs directly through Washington — and it’s splitting the community.
For some, Trump’s moves are the beginning of mainstream legitimacy. For others, they’re the first steps toward co-opting a movement that was built to exist beyond government control.
Either way, investors can’t afford to look away. The convergence of Bitcoin and state power is altering market dynamics, risk assessments, and asset correlations.
As Bitcoin becomes more intertwined with policy of the world’s largest economy, it may also start behaving less like a hedge and more like an instrument of the state. That changes its role in a portfolio, and its reaction to macro events.
In the short term, Trump's policies are turbocharging demand. In the medium term, they could establish Bitcoin as a quasi-sovereign asset class. In the long term, they raise profound philosophical questions about who really controls - and should control - money in the digital age.
What’s undeniable is that we’ve entered a new chapter. Bitcoin is no longer the outsider. Under Trump, it’s being ushered into the core of America’s financial strategy, repurposed as a tool of power and positioning.
Investors must now weigh more than price charts and hash rates. They must ask how far this convergence will go and what it means for Bitcoin’s original promise.
In just 100 days, Donald Trump has done something no president before him dared: he’s made Bitcoin matter to the state, and that changes everything.
Nigel Green, deVere Group CEO and founder
