What Trump’s 100 days of crypto chaos mean for the industry

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Hi! Eric here.

What comes next?

That’s the question crypto companies and degens ask as Donald Trump marked his first 100 days as US president.

Trump claimed success, of course, but the crypto industry isn’t so sure.

Trump’s tariffs punctured the bull run and triggered an $800 billion slump, or about 22% of the crypto market’s value since its December high.

The growing Trump crypto empire has also raised concerns about conflicts of interest — not to mention jeopardised the industry’s reputation with its different memecoins.

“Reputation is paramount, particularly in a sector striving for institutional credibility,” Jonathan Dixon, Head of Surveillance at eflow Global, told me.

“When prominent figures engage with digital assets in ways that appear opportunistic, it detracts from the efforts of firms building proper controls, infrastructure, and compliance frameworks.”

On the other hand, Trump has kept several pledges to the industry.

Gary Gensler has been replaced by pro-industry advocate Paul Atkins as chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Even before Atkins took office, the agency dropped and halted several cases against crypto companies.

Trump has also introduced sweeping orders to ban the creation of a digital dollar, protect self-custody, establish a regulatory crypto advisory group, and to create a strategic Bitcoin reserve.

While some market analysts warned that the market pullback would also cap an expected surge in deal activity, so far that doesn’t seem to be happening.

Crypto projects have secured $7.2 billion in venture capital in 2025, and there have been 88 reported mergers and acquisition deals worth $8.2 billion in the industry.

“2025 is going to be a major year for crypto M&A transactions and it could well surpass 2024 in terms of deal value and volume,” Dominic Longman, managing director for Middle East and Africa at Zodia Custody, told me.

Elsewhere, market watchers expect Bitcoin to hit a record as early as July, and to cap the year at $200,000.

In short, the industry maintains its sunny disposition.

Will its faith in Trump prove to be well-founded?

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