NEW YORK/SINGAPORE, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Financial markets swayed and wobbled at the beginning of Donald Trump's second U.S. presidency after he made a softer start on China than many had anticipated, but then signaled punitive tariffs on North American neighbours within hours.
A wave of relief that swept across markets - as his speech and slew of executive orders imposed no new trade levies - was stopped in its tracks when Trump told reporters in the White House's Oval Office that he was thinking about 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada from Feb. 1.
The dollar, which had slipped, reversed course to hit five-year highs on its Canadian counterpart.
Hong Kong shares rose, battery stocks fell and the trading day was a neat reminder of both the rollercoaster that markets rode through Trump's first term and how, this time, investors feel more sanguine about the risks.
"Prepared remarks and what's off the cuff - both of them will move markets," said Tai Hui, chief market strategist in Asia at J.P. Morgan Asset Management, at a briefing in Singapore.
Melania Trump launches meme coin as crypto conflicts worry experts
The incoming US first lady, Melania Trump, has followed her husband’s lead by launching a multibillion-dollar cryptocurrency meme coin, fueling conflict of interest concerns as the new administration prepares to loosen regulation of the volatile and controversial assets.
Digital currencies rallied as Donald Trump prepared to return to the White House. The decision to launch crypto coins on the eve of his inauguration alarmed presidential ethics experts.
The price of the incoming president’s token, $Trump, had tripled to more than $70 (£57), giving it a total value of over $14bn shortly after its launch on Friday. However, the launch of his wife’s coin, $Melania, pared back those gains as investors piled into her rival coin.
“This may represent the single worst conflict of interest in the modern history of the presidency,” Norman Eisen, a former ethics adviser in the Obama administration, told the Washington Post. Trump has “the most profound conflict of interest” in the crypto space, he added, citing the fact he was “seeking to gain” and regulate the industry.
Cryptocurrencies have made significant gains since Donald Trump’s election victory in November as he has signalled plans to deregulate the sector.
On Monday, bitcoin – the world’s best known digital currency – reached a fresh record high of $109,241, up by more than 5%. Dogecoin – which has been touted by Trump-supporting billionaire Elon Musk as the “people’s crypto” – gained nearly 5%, while Ethereum climbed 3.5% to $3,384.
Trump, who will be inaugurated on Monday, posted on social media as his token launched: “It’s time to celebrate everything we stand for: WINNING! Join my very special Trump Community. GET YOUR $TRUMP NOW.”. According to the meme coin’s website, a Trump-owned company, CIC Digital LLC, will own 80% of the token’s supply.
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The token quickly broke into the top 20 of all cryptocurrencies. Such was the extent of the digital stampede, blockchain analysts said, it sucked liquidity from the rest of the market, causing other coins to fall in value, as traders sold their existing holdings to buy into Trump’s.
Melania Trump’s launch appeared to have a similarly unintended effect on the market, as some traders sold his meme coin for a new target. “The Official Melania Meme is live! You can buy $MELANIA now,” she posted on X, which was reposted by her husband.
Shortly after the launch of $Melania, the price of $Trump fell by more than 50%, from $75 to $30, before recovering steadily in subsequent hours to about $64. The market capitalisation of $Melania reached as high as $13bn.
“This is beyond insane,” analysts at The Kobeissi Letter posted on X. “Less than 48 hours ago, Donald Trump launched $trump which just erased $7.5bn in market cap in 10 minutes. In the minutes around the launch of Melania Trump’s token, we saw massive sell orders in $trump.”
A meme coin is a type of cryptocurrency inspired by trends such as internet memes with no inherent utility, and are often susceptible to price swings and crashes. A coin launched by “Hawk Tuah girl” Haliey Welch dropped 95% shortly after its release last month, falling from a $500m market capitalisation to $25m. Welch became famous after a viral video of her talking about oral sex.
Meme coins have been described by traders as a “pure form of gambling” and akin to “buying a lottery ticket”.
While the notional value of the Trump-affiliated meme coins rose into the billions of dollars, in practice it would be difficult to realise that amount of money by selling the tokens without dramatically affecting the price. However, they could still allow Trump-controlled companies to make significant amounts of money as lock-up periods end over the next three to 12 months, while he is US president.
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The $Melania meme coin is marketed by MKT World LLC, a Florida-registered company owned by Melania Trump, whose previous surname name was Knauss. The owners will be able to sell the meme coin themselves after 30 days.
“The meme coins have amplified bitcoin’s momentum, with retail traders optimistic about Trump reaffirming his commitment to the crypto industry,” Bloomberg reported Ben El-Baz, the managing director of the digital asset exchange HashKey Global, as saying.
Some crypto enthusiasts hailed the Trump meme coin’s release, saying it was symbolic of the incoming president’s support for an industry that felt unfairly targeted by the Biden administration. Trump has promised to usher in crypto-friendly regulations and picked its supporters for key government positions.
But it has also stoked concerns of conflicts of interest and criticisms over an attempt to personally profit from political office.
Trump released batches of crypto trading cards during his presidential campaign, generating more than $4m for each release. Trump’s sons Eric and Donald Jr also launched a cryptocurrency venture, World Liberty Financial, in 2024, inciting concerns of an overt conflict of interest.
Donald Trump meme coin’s website included a disclaimer stating: “Trump memes are intended to function as an expression of support for, and engagement with, the ideals and beliefs embodied by the symbol ‘$Trump’ and the associated artwork, and are not intended to be, or to be the subject of, an investment opportunity, investment contract, or security of any type.
Solana price has regained momentum and jumped
Solana price has regained momentum and jumped for five consecutive days and reached its highest point since Dec.6. Solana (SOL) rose to a high of $245 on Saturday, up by 42% from its lowest point this month, bringing its valuation to $117 billion. It has become the fifth-biggest cryptocurrency after Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, and Tether. Source: CoinGecko Here are some top reasons why SOL spiked and why that rally will likely continue. Solana’s ecosystem growth Solana has jumped because of the ongoing ecosystem growth. Its meme coins have grown and accumulated over $22 billion in market cap. Official Trump (TRUMP), which President-elect Donald Trump unveiled on Jan. 17, has a valuation of $4.4 billion. The other popular meme coins in the ecosystem are Bonk (BONK), Dogwifhat (WIF), and Pudgy Penguins (PENGU). Solana is also a big player in the non-fungible token industry. According to CryptoSlam, Solana’s NFTs had over $81 million in sales in the last 30 days, making it the third-biggest player after Ethereum and Bitcoin. Solana’s ecosystem may continue growing because of its faster transaction speeds, lower costs, and the popularity of its Decentralized Exchange networks. Data shows that Solana’s DEX networks handled $32.2 billion in the last seven days, higher than Ethereum’s $9.2 billion. This growth has led to higher network fees, which totaled $820 million in the last 365 days and $77 million this year. Some of these funds flow to Solana stakers; they’re receiving a 7% yield. Solana revenue and fees | Source: TokenTerminal SOL ETF hopes are steady Solana price has also rallied as investors anticipate the potential ETF approval by the Securities and Exchange Commission. A Polymarket poll places those odds at 77%, meaning that the agency under Paul Atkins may be more open to approval. A Solana ETF would likely lead to more demand for the coin from institutional investors. This demand would be higher if the agency was open to allowing these tokens to be staked. In a note this week, JPMorgan anticipated that a Solana ETF would attract between $3 billion and $6 billion in the first year. You might also like: Solana ETF approval by July 2025? Polymarket odds spike Solana price technicals are supportive SOL price chart | Source: crypto.news The daily chart shows that the SOL token rebounded after forming a double-bottom pattern at $175.42. It has now moved above the pattern’s neckline at $222.95, its highest swing on Jan. 6. Solana, founded in 2020 by engineer Anatoly Yakovenko, remains above the ascending trendline that connects the lowest swings since January 23 last year. It has remained above the 50-day moving average, while the Relative Strength Index has tilted upwards. Therefore, the Solana price will likely continue rising, a move that will be confirmed if the token rises above the key resistance at $264.15, its highest point in 2024. Solana up until now Yakovenko envisioned a blockchain capable of scaling to millions of transactions per second, providing a solution to what critics said were Ethereum’s slow transaction speeds and high fees. The network is designed to support decentralized applications (dApps) and cryptocurrency transactions. Solana touts faster transaction processing and a higher throughput than many of its competitors. After its mainnet launch in 2020, Solana quickly gained attention for its speed and low-cost transactions, attracting developers and investors. Throughout 2021, the network grew with numerous decentralized finance (DeFi) projects and non-fungible tokens on its platform. Solana, currently backed by big-name venture firms like Andreessen Horowitz, continues to enjoy rapid development via efficient blockchain solutions in the ever-growing crypto space. Read more: Crypto VC funding: Phantom raises $150m, Komainu bags
Oasisのソーシャルデータ
直近24時間では、Oasisのソーシャルメディアセンチメントスコアは1で、Oasisの価格トレンドに対するソーシャルメディアセンチメントは弱気でした。全体的なOasisのソーシャルメディアスコアは153で、全暗号資産の中で224にランクされました。
LunarCrushによると、過去24時間で、暗号資産は合計1,058,120回ソーシャルメディア上で言及され、Oasisは0.02%の頻度比率で言及され、全暗号資産の中で125にランクされました。
過去24時間で、合計1,226人のユニークユーザーがOasisについて議論し、Oasisの言及は合計199件です。しかし、前の24時間と比較すると、ユニークユーザー数は増加で15%、言及総数は減少で18%増加しています。
X(Twitter)では、過去24時間に合計1件のOasisに言及したポストがありました。その中で、0%はOasisに強気、100%はOasisに弱気、0%はOasisに中立です。
Redditでは、過去24時間にOasisに言及した29件の投稿がありました。直近の24時間と比較して、Oasisの言及数が12%増加しました。
すべてのソーシャル概要
1