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As we’ve all been learning over the past year, President Donald Trump is a man who loves a deal. Just as Trump gave the Libertarian party the promise to free Silk Road’s Ross Ulbricht in return for their support, a deal was also struck with the cryptosphere – and some would argue the demographic of the two deals overlap.
President Trump shook up US policy on crypto with his January 23rd executive order. It was aptly titled “Strengthening American Leadership in Digital Financial Technology”, and the upshot of it is that he’s looking to build a comprehensive framework promoting digital asset innovation – all while prohibiting central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).
David Sacks, Trump’s new AI and ”Crypto Czar”, posted on X saying “Donald Trump was right to rescind the Biden EO”, in response to the competition hotting up from China’s DeepSeek. This referenced Executive Order was of course the one on AI safety, showing crypto and AI are a part of a broader strategy.
Sacks will chair the Presidential Working Group on Digital Assets, which groups up 11 executive departments and agencies, tasked with developing regulatory frameworks and evaluating a potential national digital asset stockpile.
The broader strategy appears to go back on Biden’s risk-averse approach that was deemed restrictive and a danger of being caught up by China. The new order is explicit in its support for private sector innovation and self-custody rights mandating that the group delivers its recommendations within six months.
Just as these deals and orders are boosting confidence in crypto, the same trend can be seen in the best casino sites, which are experiencing increased trust following Trump’s meeting with the American Gaming Association. AI, crypto, gambling, and any industry pertaining to Elon Musk appear to be impacted by Trump so far.
XRP’s Market Performance Under Trump
Crypto in general has benefited since Trump’s victory, at least in terms of valuation. XRP, in particular, has seen a lot of growth in early 2025, growing from $2.10 to flirting with $3.40 on January 16th, though it’s currently levelled off at $3.09 – a 47% increase.
The Monthly Fool notes that XRP has outperformed major cryptocurrencies with its year-to-date increase, so it’s not just a result of a broadly positive market sentiment under Trump.
Trading volumes float around $10 billion daily, solidifying XRP’s position as the third-largest cryptocurrency with a market capitalization of around $175 billion. For perspective, the year-to-date growth rates of other currencies are:
- Bitcoin: +8%
- Ethereum: -7%
- Cardano: +8%
- Solana: +20%
The Strategic Reserve Possibility
The Trump administration’s exploration of a national digital asset stockpile is what has really kicked off XRP’s buzz. The President has recently spoken with Ripple about this, as Trump announced that we should be looking at holding a range of cryptocurrencies, not Bitcoin alone. Betting platform Polymarket believes there’s a 17% likelihood of Trump approving the reserve project within the first 100 days of presidency. So, we can expect this story to continue unfolding…
One major appeal of XRP is that it’s very much a “Made in America” coin, with Ripple being located in San Francisco. Cardano, on the other hand, is located in Switzerland, not too far from the World Economic Forum’s base.
Furthermore, Ripple actually holds 37.7 billion tokens right now in escrow, which is 37.7% of the total supply. Though unlikely, should this entirely fall in the hands of the US government, it would be fee-free access worth over $65 billion in XRP.
Brad Garlinghouse himself (Ripple’s CEO) has touted the benefits of a diversified reserve approach which is inclusive of various blockchain technologies. However, this stance has sparked debate within the crypto community. Bitcoin maximalists oppose the inclusion of alternative cryptocurrencies, arguing that only Bitcoin possesses the necessary decentralization and security features.
Regulatory Reform and SEC Developments
The SEC is also going through some big changes this year. Under the new Acting Chairman Mark Uyeda, the agency launched a comprehensive Crypto Task Force led by Commissioner Hester Peirce. The goal of this is to establish clear guidelines and realistic roads to registration for crypto projects.
Considering Bitcoin rallied when the Task Force was announced, it’s somewhat clear the market believes regulation will be laxer going forward, compared to Biden’s approach.
Ripple’s Legal Outlook
The SEC’s appeal is essentially challenging Judge Torres’ ruling that XRP transactions by retail investors were not securities. Ripple has requested a deal for mid-April 16th regarding its cross-appeal brief.
This has brought uncertainty to the entire market, as these big rulings are what define the future of crypto, its projects, and the way it’s marketed. It’s expected that, while the fate of XRP lies in the hands of regulators, those are a more friendly set of hands since Trump’s inauguration.
Courtesy to Charlon Muscat
