U.S. President Donald Trump has declared himself the "first crypto president," but his impact on the cryptocurrency market is raising serious concerns. Researcher James O'Sullivan argues that Trump's family is responsible for eroding trust in crypto and contributing to its recent downturn.
Chaos Instead of Growth
Since Bitcoin's inception nearly 15 years ago, the crypto industry has always been volatile, speculative, and prone to sharp swings. However, according to O'Sullivan, no one has caused more damage to the industry in recent months than Donald Trump and his inner circle.
Cryptocurrencies are seen in different ways — some consider them a financial revolution, while others view them as a pyramid scheme built on "magic internet money." While blockchain is based on transparency and decentralization, in practice, the industry is riddled with scams, pump-and-dump schemes, and manipulation, which primarily harms retail investors, O'Sullivan claims.
Trump’s Memecoins: Speculation and Losses
One of the most damaging influences Trump has had on crypto, O’Sullivan says, was the launch of memecoins TRUMP and MELANIA in January. As expected, their prices skyrocketed after public endorsements from Trump, only to crash soon after. Many of his supporters who bought in at the peak suffered major losses. Whales are now exiting these tokens en masse. Similar collapses happened with LIBRA and CAR.
O’Sullivan calls these schemes "Trump and dump" – a play on words suggesting that Trump is engaging in classic pump-and-dump tactics, leaving regular investors holding worthless tokens while insiders walk away with profits.
"U.S. Crypto Reserve" and Insider Trading
Last week, Trump announced the creation of a U.S. strategic crypto reserve, initially stating it would only include Bitcoin (BTC). However, he later expanded the list to Ethereum (ETH), XRP, Solana (SOL), and Cardano (ADA).
This announcement led to a sharp price surge, but within hours, the market crashed again. Analysts noticed that a trader opened high-risk 50x leverage positions just minutes before Trump’s post on Truth Social, making $6.8 million on the spike while retail investors suffered losses.
Trump’s Crypto Policy: Chaos Instead of Clarity
For years, the crypto industry has tried to rebuild trust following the collapses of FTX and Terra Classic. However, O’Sullivan believes Trump’s influence has turned the market into the "Wild West," where insiders and manipulators hold power.
Trump’s stance on crypto has been inconsistent — he once criticized Bitcoin, later embraced it, and now promotes multiple tokens with no clear regulatory strategy. This lack of defined policies fuels speculation and uncertainty, harming the industry.
Centralization Over Decentralization
Blockchain was originally designed to empower users by eliminating central intermediaries. However, Trump, his associates, and affiliated investors have concentrated influence over key crypto projects, undermining decentralization.
Democratic lawmakers are calling for an investigation into Trump’s crypto dealings, particularly his involvement in World Liberty Financial. They argue that his direct participation violates ethical norms and poses national security risks.
O’Sullivan stresses that the crypto industry must regain control over its own future. As long as it remains a tool for political games, legitimate projects and blockchain innovators will struggle to fulfill their potential.
What’s Next
The researcher warns that unless the crypto industry moves away from politically driven speculation and focuses on real technological advancements, it will remain in a fragile state.
Recent events highlight how vulnerable the crypto market still is to manipulation, and unless that changes, retail investors will continue to lose money to insiders and politicians.
What are your thoughts?
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