US President Donald Trump listed his administration’s “America First Priorities” on Jan. 20, but none mentioned cryptocurrencies or his pledged strategic Bitcoin reserve.
According to a White House briefing, Trump’s priorities include public safety, boosting affordability through energy independence, reforming the government bureaucracy and bringing back “American values.”
Despite Trump’s pro-crypto campaign promises, digital assets weren’t listed in his priorities. Still, industry observers say crypto will feature prominently in his second term.
Earlier in the day, crypto markets were abuzz about the possibility that Trump would sign an executive order establishing a strategic Bitcoin reserve. Although such an executive order wasn’t issued on Jan. 20, bettors on Polymarket still believe there’s a roughly one-in-three chance that the strategic reserve will be created within Trump’s first 100 days in office.
Bettors on Kalshi are wagering that there’s still a high chance of a strategic Bitcoin reserve being established this year. Source: Kalshi
On rival betting market Kalshi, bettors say there’s a roughly 60% chance that a strategic Bitcoin reserve will be enacted this calendar year.
Related: $99K Trump 'plunge protection' — 5 things to know in Bitcoin this week
A wild weekend for crypto
The crypto market has experienced extreme volatility over the past 72 hours after Trump launched his own memecoin on the Solana blockchain, earning him both praise and criticism from the crypto community.
The Official Trump (TRUMP) memecoin surged more than 490% in its first 24 hours of trading on Jan. 18, becoming a top-30 token overnight. According to CoinGecko, the TRUMP token’s total market capitalization reached nearly $11 billion.
The price of Bitcoin (BTC) also hit a new all-time high leading up to Trump’s inauguration, briefly trading above $109,000. The BTC price has since corrected back down to around $104,000.
Despite the intraday volatility, Bitcoin has rallied nearly 50% since Trump was elected on Nov. 5. The rally was fueled by expectations that the incoming administration would usher in a golden era for crypto marked by favorable policies and greater political legitimacy.
Follow Cointelegraph’s live blog as Trump takes the oath of office on Jan. 20.
Related: The US dollar vs crypto: Is Trump undermining the greenback?