The Daily: Crypto's 'pivotal moment' on Inauguration Day, Trump and Melania's memecoin mania and more

Happy Inauguration Day! It's been a whirlwind few days with controversial memecoin launches, bitcoin hitting all-time highs and mounting speculation around crypto-focused executive orders. Take a moment to catch up on the industry's latest news as the new President begins his second term. 

In today's newsletter, we've got crypto-related inauguration commentary, Trump and Melania memecoin mania, World Liberty Financial's token acquisitions and more.

Meanwhile, Trump reportedly taps CFTC Commissioner Caroline Pham to lead as acting chair.

Let's get started.

Crypto's 'pivotal moment' on Trump's Inauguration Day

Donald Trump's inauguration as the 47th President of the United States marks a "pivotal moment" for crypto, with bold policy changes anticipated, according to industry experts.

• Establishing a bitcoin strategic reserve and commuting the sentence of Silk Road creator Ross Ulbricht are among the executive orders speculated for Trump's first day.
• During the election campaign, Trump also pledged to appoint a more crypto-friendly SEC Chair, repeal SAB 121, end "Operation Choke Point 2.0," and position the U.S. as a bitcoin mining "powerhouse."
• States like Texas, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Oklahoma are already advancing bills for strategic bitcoin reserves, while Senator Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming has also introduced draft legislation for a U.S. national reserve to acquire 1 million BTC using government funds over the next five years.
• Asymmetric CIO Joe McCann and Xapo Bank CEO Seamus Rocca highlighted that greater regulatory clarity under Trump could catalyze a new wave of crypto innovation and global alignment with U.S. policies.
• While that could also be a catalyst for another DeFi summer, Radix founder Dan Hughes warned that large-scale bitcoin reserves by nation-states could lead to economic centralization, conflicting with bitcoin's decentralized ethos.
• However, expectations were dampened after Trump's inauguration speech and a document setting out key priorities failed to mention crypto , causing prices to fall.

Trump and Melania's controversial memecoin launch

Donald Trump's inauguration follows the high-profile and controversial launch of his official Solana-based memecoin , TRUMP , during the premiere Crypto Ball in Washington on Friday night.

• A frenzy of trading activity subsequently lifted the token to a fully diluted valuation of more than $75 billion at one point, briefly surpassing the largest memecoin, DOGE, as Solana witnessed $50 billion in trading volume.
• That was until the launch of returning First Lady Melania Trump's own memecoin, MELANIA , saw a 50% correction for the TRUMP token.
• Melania's memecoin hit a peak fully diluted valuation of around $13 billion before it also halved, featuring faster vesting periods though fewer insider allocations than Trump's token.

World Liberty Financial's token sale surge and buying spree

WLFI token sales for the Trump family-backed World Liberty Financial DeFi project surged to more than $250 million on Sunday from $91 million the day before, driven by renewed interest amid the memecoin launches.

• The project sold out the initial 20% of its 100 billion token supply set aside for public sale but opened an additional 5% due to high demand.
• Meanwhile, World Liberty Financial continued to diversify its treasury holdings away from stablecoins, buying another $90 million worth of more speculative tokens, including ETH, WBTC, TRX, LINK, AAVE and ENA, according to Arkham.
• Notably, Tron founder Justin Sun said Tron DAO increased its investment in World Liberty Financial by another $45 million to $75 million. He also serves as an advisor to the project.

Solana daily transaction fees reach record $33 million

Solana's daily transaction fees hit a record $33.2 million on Sunday, driven by heavy onchain activity generated by the TRUMP and MELANIA memecoin launches on the blockchain.

• The memecoins also boosted Solana-based DEX volumes to over $27 billion daily, surpassing all other Layer 1 networks.
• The rollout of these high-profile memecoins has had a broader impact on the Solana ecosystem, with a noticeable shift in flows from other networks.
• The price of Solana's native token SOL has increased more than 50% over the past week and hit a record high of around $295 on Sunday.

Bitcoin hits all-time high above $109,000

Bitcoin surged to a new all-time high of more than $109,000 earlier on Monday, driven by anticipation of pro-crypto policies from President Trump.

• Unsubstantiated rumors had also circulated on social media, claiming that a draft of his inauguration speech featured a bitcoin strategic reserve announcement, with prices falling once that failed to transpire.
• Joe McCann, CIO of crypto fund Asymmetric, told The Block that he still had a bullish outlook for its price trajectory, with targets ranging from $125,000 to $150,000 as Trump's policies are revealed.

In the next 24 hours

• It's quiet on the economic calendar front.
• Davos 2025 continues in Switzerland.
• EigenLayer is set to unlock 1.29 million EIGEN tokens worth $3.5 million, representing 0.55% of the circulating supply.

Never miss a beat with The Block's daily digest of the most influential events happening across the digital asset ecosystem.