Bitcoin Hits New All-Time High — and Volatility — as Second Trump Administration Begins

Last year, when Donald Trump was on the campaign trail, he promised he'd be "a crypto president." On Monday, as his second administration began, bitcoin soared to a new all-time high of nearly $110,000, fueled by expectations that a wide range of crypto-forward policy changes would be imminent.

Coinbase Bytes is your weekly digest of crypto news. Here’s what you need to know this week:

Bitcoin neared $110K as the Trump administration began. Plus, new SEC leadership launched a crypto task force to chart a “sensible regulatory path.”

Almost a dozen states are pursuing bitcoin reserves. A closer look at what they’ve proposed, and the potential for a federal BTC stockpile.

Numbers to know. MicroStrategy’s latest BTC buy, the percent of Kenyan crypto owners who say crypto improves economic freedom, and more key stats.

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Bitcoin hits new all-time high — and volatility — as second Trump administration begins

Last year, when Donald Trump was on the campaign trail, he promised he’d be “a crypto president.”

On Monday, as his second administration began, bitcoin soared to a new all-time high of nearly $110,000, fueled by expectations that a wide range of crypto-forward policy changes would be imminent.

By the end of the day, however, prices dropped below $101,000, as some traders may have sold for a profit and others were potentially disappointed over the lack of crypto references in the president’s inauguration speech or immediate “day one” actions.

On Tuesday, a sunnier picture began to emerge. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Acting Chairman Mark Uyeda announced a task force aimed at crafting a set of clear rules of the road for crypto, after which prices recovered to around $107,000. A set of additional actions are still expected from the administration in the coming days and weeks.

“The president has moved quickly on his agenda,” Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal told Reuters. “The SEC has made it clear they understand that and want to be a part of that.”

Trump also launched a token of his own on the Solana blockchain last Friday. The Official Trump (TRUMP) coin quickly saw billions of dollars in trade volume, and as of Thursday morning was sitting in the Top 25 biggest cryptocurrencies, with a market cap of $7.4 billion.

Here’s what else you need to know about markets this week.

New SEC task force to develop “sensible regulatory path” for crypto

For the last four years, the SEC took a largely “hostile” stance in regards to crypto — refusing to issue clear guidance for the industry, pushing back against innovations like crypto exchange-traded funds, and often pursuing “regulation by enforcement” via lawsuits. 

Under the Trump administration, the SEC is already taking a different approach, as evidenced by its creation of a new crypto task force that will be led by longtime SEC commissioner Hester Peirce. The goal of the group is to craft clear crypto regulations that will clarify previously murky rules that led to “confusion about what is legal, which creates an environment hostile to innovation and conducive to fraud,” according to the SEC’s announcement. 

In Peirce’s words… “We look forward to working hand-in-hand with the public to foster a regulatory environment that protects investors, facilitates capital formation, fosters market integrity, and supports innovation,” wrote the task force’s leader.

What do crypto leaders and analysts think could happen next? 

Speaking to CNBC, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong described the inauguration of the new administration as “the dawn of a new day for crypto” and expressed hopes for an executive order that would direct government agencies to work together to create “clear rules”: “That’s what would really allow capital to flow into the United States and for startups to be built there,” said Armstrong.   

Meanwhile, Jeremy Allaire — the CEO of USDC issuer Circle — predicts that Trump will soon sign an executive order allowing banks to offer a wide range of crypto services to clients.

What about prices? According to a new Standard Chartered report, an increase in institutional investment in crypto could push BTC to $200,000 and ETH to $10,000 by the end of the year. Longer term, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink suggested that a single bitcoin could someday be worth as much as $700,000 if enough major investment funds added crypto to their allocation mix. 

Litecoin spikes on potential ETF launch news 

Last year at this time, crypto markets were rallying after the blockbuster debut of spot BTC exchange-traded funds. 

This week, Litecoin (LTC) surged by around 20% on the news that Canary Capital had received comments from the SEC on its application for an ETF that would buy LTC and sell shares via conventional markets. “Litecoin ETF now has all the boxes checked,” Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas said on X. “The first altcoin ETF of 2025 is about to be on the clock