Inauguration Day Leads to $700M in Crypto Liquidations, Sending Solana and Trump Memecoins Lower.

Crypto Markets Shake as Trump Inauguration Speech Avoids Crypto, $700M in Liquidations Follow

Crypto markets saw significant price swings on Monday during Donald Trump’s inauguration as traders reacted to the president’s speech, which failed to address cryptocurrency, leaving many disappointed.

The CoinDesk 20 Index, a benchmark for the top cryptocurrencies, dropped over 5% during the inauguration ceremony. Bitcoin (BTC), which had been trading at more than $106,000 before the speech, fell to $101,000 and later stabilized around $103,000. Solana (SOL), which had been at the center of the Trump-related memecoin frenzy over the weekend, led the losses among major altcoins, falling nearly 10% from its all-time high.

Trump Memecoins Suffer Sharp Declines

The TRUMP memecoin, which launched just days before the inauguration on Solana, experienced a sharp 30% decline during the speech, dropping from $50. It later recovered some of its losses but remained approximately 20% below its session high. MELANIA, the memecoin launched by Melania Trump one day after TRUMP, saw an even steeper drop of 46% before bouncing back slightly.

Liquidation Wave Hits Crypto Markets

The volatility in the market led to a massive wave of liquidations in leveraged crypto positions. Data from CoinGlass shows that over $700 million worth of derivatives were liquidated on exchanges during the day. Nearly $500 million of these liquidations came from long positions, which were betting on rising prices.

When factoring in the overnight selloff before the inauguration, the total liquidations over the last 24 hours surpassed $1.2 billion, marking the largest leveraged wipeout of the year so far.

Crypto Community Reacts to Inauguration Disappointment

Expectations had been high in the crypto community for Trump’s presidency, with many anticipating that he would introduce policies that were more favorable to digital assets. However, his inauguration speech, which lacked any reference to crypto, along with the launch of Trump-backed memecoins, stirred up a wave of speculative trading, drawing criticism from prominent figures in the industry.

Nic Carter, co-founder of Castle Island Ventures, expressed frustration with the memecoin launch, calling it “absolutely ridiculous” and accusing Trump’s team of “taking the crypto space to new lows.”

Maxine Waters, the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, also voiced disapproval, stating, “This meme coin is a perfect example of what’s wrong with crypto and why so many regulators have had concerns. President Trump’s actions will further damage the credibility of the crypto industry, which has long fought for legitimacy and fairness in the financial system.”