Bitcoin Under Trump Vs Biden: Who Actually Helped Crypto the Most?
Few subjects divide the crypto business greater than politics. Donald Trump is sometimes called “America’s first crypto president,” whereas the Biden administration earned a status for being hostile towards the sector.
But when rhetoric is stripped away and changed with market information, the image turns into extra nuanced. The key query is just not which administration spoke extra favorably about crypto, however underneath whose management Bitcoin in the end carried out higher.
Bitcoin Performance: The Numbers Tell a Clear Story
In the 2024 United States presidential election, Trump positioned himself as a pro-crypto candidate, vowing to make the US the “crypto capital of the world.” He promised to halt anti-crypto actions, rein in SEC crackdowns, and, in his personal words:
“End Joe Biden’s struggle on crypto and we are going to be sure that the way forward for crypto and the way forward for Bitcoin will likely be made in America.”
This fueled optimism in the market and ignited hopes for a bull run. Fast ahead to close the finish of 2025, and Bitcoin is down almost 5%.
By comparability, throughout Biden’s first 12 months as president, the world’s largest cryptocurrency gained roughly 65%. Performance weakened in 2022, however momentum returned in the following years.
Bitcoin rebounded strongly, rising roughly 155% in 2023 and an extra 120.7% in 2024.
| Year | Bitcoin return (%) |
| 2021 | 65% |
| 2022 | 64.2% |
| 2023 | 155% |
| 2024 | 120.7% |
| 2025 (As of December 26) | -5% |
When analyzing Trump’s first time period as president, an analyst famous that it was “the best crypto bull run” in historical past, throughout which the complete cryptocurrency market capitalization elevated by roughly 115 occasions from the starting of his time period to its finish.
“Biden’s time period returned 4.5x from starting to finish, and even at the worst second, it by no means went beneath the annual open for his time period. Trump’s 2nd time period up to now is beneath annual open, however 3 extra years to go,” the pseudonymous analyst wrote.
Bitcoin Under Trump
So what really occurred this 12 months? The pullback is just not one thing that may be understood by headline 2025 returns alone.
In January, momentum was broadly on Bitcoin’s facet. Ahead of Trump’s inauguration, BTC rallied above $109,000, marking a brand new all-time high at the time. There have been additionally developments on the regulatory facet, with the SEC creating a task force to supply a clear regulatory framework for digital property.
Nonetheless, Trump’s subsequent strikes erased all these positive aspects. After he introduced tariffs on the EU and later expanded on them at Liberation Day, cryptocurrency markets declined alongside equities.
Notably, the announcement of a pause led to a modest restoration. This highlighted the market’s sensitivity to broader macroeconomic developments and pointed to elevated volatility.
Meanwhile, adoption continued to rise as state-level Bitcoin reserve initiatives and institutional involvement elevated. Bitcoin’s value continued to development greater, posting optimistic returns for 4 consecutive months from April by way of July.
A key development throughout this era was the emergence of digital asset treasuries (DATs). Public firms more and more started adopting Bitcoin as a reserve asset, following the playbook popularized by Micro (Strategy).
Bitcoin benefited from this shift, as many consultants argued institutional involvement may assist scale back volatility and sign the asset’s maturation inside conventional finance.
As confidence grew, so did the threat urge for food and the use of leverage. High-risk, extremely leveraged traders drew widespread attention. On the macroeconomic entrance, the Fed slashed rates of interest in September. This was once more bullish for threat property.
Bitcoin went on to achieve a brand new all-time high in October, peaking at $125,761 on October 6. Many projected additional upside, with targets starting from $185,000 to $200,000 by year-end.
This optimism was supported by favorable macroeconomic catalysts and Bitcoin’s traditionally sturdy efficiency during the fourth quarter.
BeInCrypto reported that on October 11, Trump’s announcement of 100% tariffs on China pulled the market decrease. Over $19 billion in leveraged positions have been worn out, leading to vital losses for a lot of merchants.
The broader downturn persevered in the coming months, amplified by leverage.
“It additionally seems to be a structural and mechanical downturn. It all started with institutional outflows in mid-to-late October. In the first week of November, crypto funds noticed -$1.2 billion of outflows. The drawback turns into extreme ranges of leverage AMID these outflows…Excessive ranges of leverage have resulted in a seemingly hypersensitive market,” The Kobeissi Letter posted in November.
Bitcoin dropped 17.67% in November and has since misplaced a further 1.7% of its worth this month, in response to Coinglass data.
From Bitcoin ETFs to Altcoins: Regulatory Changes and Market Response
The Trump and Biden administrations differed on a number of key points, considered one of which was crypto ETFs. Under the Biden administration, the SEC initially took a much more cautious strategy to the crypto sector. This stance prolonged to crypto ETFs.
However, the regulatory place shifted following a ruling by the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit, which ordered the SEC to rethink Grayscale Investments’ utility to transform its flagship GBTC fund right into a spot Bitcoin ETF.
Thus, the SEC approved spot Bitcoin ETFs in January 2024 and later greenlit spot Ethereum ETFs in July.
Notably, after Gary Gensler’s departure from the SEC, asset managers have been fast to file a number of functions for altcoin ETFs. Firms together with Bitwise, 21 Capital, and Canary Capital, amongst others, submitted filings to launch a spread of crypto-based funding merchandise.
In September, the SEC approved generic listing standards, eliminating the want for case-by-case approvals. Following this shift, ETFs linked to property resembling SOL, HBAR, XRP, LTC, LINK, and DOGE entered the market.
In November, Canary Capital’s XRP ETF saw $58.6 million in trading quantity on its first day, rating as the strongest debut amongst greater than 900 ETFs launched in 2025. Bitwise’s Solana ETF additionally attracted vital curiosity, producing $56 million in first-day quantity, whereas different merchandise recorded comparatively decrease exercise.
From a regulatory standpoint, the ETFs have elevated market entry, and the ruling diminished obstacles for issuers. However, early efficiency information recommend that the introduction of extra crypto ETFs has not but translated right into a proportional improve in mixture market inflows.
In 2024, spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted roughly $35.2 billion in internet inflows. In 2025, inflows into Bitcoin ETFs slowed to $22.16 billion in response to SoSoWorth data. This divergence means that the development in ETF choices might have coincided with a redistribution of capital throughout merchandise somewhat than an enlargement of complete crypto publicity.
Inside the Trump Family’s Crypto Empire
Although Donald Trump’s affect on the market is evident, he has additionally change into straight concerned in the crypto area. In January, the president launched a meme coin, quickly adopted by a intently resembling token launched by Melania Trump.
In March, US President Donald Trump’s sons, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., partnered with Hut 8 to launch American Bitcoin Corp.
These ventures have generated vital wealth for the US president and his household. According to a Reuters evaluation, they earned greater than $800 million from crypto asset gross sales in the first half of 2025 alone,
One may argue that these strikes helped legitimize the sector and speed up adoption. Still, Trump’s direct and oblique involvement in crypto-related ventures raises issues round optics, governance, and market integrity. While meme cash are usually not new to the crypto area, their affiliation with a sitting US president is unprecedented.
These actions have additionally drawn sharp criticism from regulators and customers alike. The Trump meme coin, WLFI, and American Bitcoin Corp have all suffered steep declines, leading to significant losses for supporters.
Conclusion
Taken collectively, the information recommend that the reply to who helped crypto the most will depend on how “assist” is outlined. Under Trump, crypto has benefited from a friendlier regulatory tone, diminished enforcement strain, and quicker approval of latest funding merchandise.
These adjustments lowered obstacles for issuers and expanded market entry.
However, market efficiency tells a unique story. Bitcoin’s strongest positive aspects occurred earlier, throughout Joe Biden’s presidency.
Meanwhile, Trump’s first 12 months again in workplace has been marked by heightened volatility.
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