Here’s a look at the top 10 cryptocurrencies that gained value during Trump’s presidency

Bitcoin hit a new all-time high following President-elect Donald Trump’s victory in the 2024 U.S. presidential election.

Trump is set to return to the White House, and now he appears to be bringing a pro-crypto stance. His campaign has repeatedly pledged to support the cryptocurrency industry, a departure from the previous administration.

As Trump prepares to return to office, this article takes a look back at the cryptocurrency landscape during his last term. Since then, the industry has undergone a significant transformation—half of the top 10 coins during his last term have fallen out of the rankings.

Let’s take a look at the current status of the top 10 cryptocurrencies during Trump’s last presidency.

Bitcoin remains king

Bitcoin price on January 20, 2021: $35,302.18

Bitcoin price on November 11, 2024: $82,379.60

Since Trump last entered the White House, Bitcoin has had more twists and turns than the president-elect’s campaign trail. First, there was the all-time high of around $67,000 in November 2021. Then came FTX — the November 2022 crash that dropped Bitcoin to $17,000, leaving everyone wondering if the ride was over.

Both Bitcoin and the global economy have been going through a bear market, and BTC has struggled for most of it.

Like any good comeback story, though, Bitcoin rebounds in 2024 as it becomes available to institutions on the U.S. stock market via those shiny new spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

With Trump’s victory marking the beginning of the end for crypto supervillain, SEC’s Gary Gensler, analysts’ eyes are on the $100,000 mark, with the asset already breaching the $82,000 mark.

Additionally, Bitcoin now hosts digital trinkets like Ordinals (an iteration of non-fungible tokens) and some of the internet’s most popular memecoins through Runes. So while Bitcoin remains the gold standard cryptocurrency in the age of Trump 2.0, it’s also found some new ways to keep itself interesting.

From undisputed king to second-floor lab rat

Ethereum price on January 20, 2021: $1,361.05

Ethereum price on November 11, 2024: $3,175.47

ETH is the undisputed monarch of the smart contract world, ruling over a kingdom of decentralized applications. Now, that crown is no longer so secure, and the network is facing some stiff competition.

Solana is a fast, shining upstart that is currently ranked fourth in market cap and has taken a leading position among the “Ethereum killer” blockchains.

Ethereum, however, has chosen a different route to stay relevant. Instead of competing for raw speed, it has chosen to scale through layer 2 solutions. This has helped alleviate the notorious congestion and high fees, but it has come at a cost.

These layer 2 networks drained liquidity and fragmented Ethereum’s ecosystem, turning its once unified realm into a sprawling collection of mini-kingdoms.

As it continues to evolve, Ethereum is also going green through The Merge in September 2022, replacing proof of work with the more environmentally friendly proof of stake consensus mechanism.

The upgrade, which cut ethereum’s energy consumption by 99% and laid the groundwork for future scalability tweaks like sharding, was praised by the crypto world as a big step forward for ethereum’s sustainability, though it did not lead to the explosive price surge some investors had expected.

While Bitcoin has been busy breaking records, Ethereum has been left behind despite listing its own spot ETF. Currently, Ethereum still maintains the second position, but being a traditional brand alone may not be enough to keep the crown.

USDT Ignores Doubters

In the wake of the Terra-Luna debacle — which shook confidence in algorithmic stablecoins everywhere — Tether’s USDT not only weathered the storm, but emerged stronger than ever. USDT is now the third-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, with its valuation having surged to around $120 billion.

The company has yet to undergo a full, comprehensive audit, despite generating $2.5 billion in net profit in the third quarter, bringing total profits to $7.7 billion for 2024. Instead, Tether periodically provides attestations.

So, what’s driving it? Mainly U.S. Treasuries. That makes Uncle Sam’s debt a cash cow for Tether.

But with huge profits come huge problems. In the absence of a formal audit, many doubt whether Tether’s vaults are as solid as they claim. Tether may be a giant, but trust is still the most important currency.

From Contender to Rebuilder

Polkadot price on January 20, 2021: $15.94

Polkadot price on November 11, 2024: $5.13

Polkadot was gaining momentum during Trump’s last term. With a market cap of $17 per coin and fourth place in the cryptocurrency rankings, it seemed poised to become a bridge across blockchain ecosystems and a future of seamless cross-chain communication. However, in 2024, Polkadot’s sheen has faded — with a price of $4.10 and a market cap that has fallen to 21st place.

Polkadot is no longer a top 10 cryptocurrency. Source: Logan Saether

Despite this, Polkadot has not raised the white flag. This year, it launched Agile Coretime, a new system that allows developers to buy processing time directly on its core layer. This is part of the Polkadot 2.0 upgrade and is a major shift from the old auction model.

With the introduction of “Inscriptions” — a playful nod to Bitcoin’s ordinals — Polkadot broke transaction records in December 2023, with more than 17 million transactions.

Polkadot’s audience is hard to impress, though. Ethereum and Solana have already cemented themselves as powerhouses in the decentralized finance (DeFi) space, with other advanced blockchains nipping at their heels.

XRP has a bright future

XRP price on January 20, 2021: $0.285924

XRP price on November 11, 2024: $0.581592

In January 2021, XRP was in fifth place in the cryptocurrency rankings. It fell slightly to seventh place, but growth has been mostly positive. Its price jumped from $0.2958 to $0.5355, and its market cap more than doubled to $30.5 billion. Not bad for a cryptocurrency that has been through enough legal battles to warrant courtroom drama.

Ripple Labs, a San Francisco company that develops technology around the XRP ledger and advocates for its use in cross-border transactions, won a partial victory in court in 2023.

After years of back-and-forth, the judge ruled that while some private sales of XRP did enter the realm of unregistered securities, XRP itself was not a security. This was a half-victory for Ripple and a complete game changer for the XRP ecosystem, which has long operated under a regulatory cloud.

Now, with legal uncertainty removed, XRP is even being discussed as a candidate for an ETF — alongside up-and-comers like Solana. An XRP ETF could open the door to a more mainstream audience, sparking new excitement among investors who have experienced their ups and downs. So while XRP may have slipped a few spots in the rankings, its resilience, steady growth, and newfound legal clarity herald the beginning of an unexpected recovery.

ADA occasionally falls out of the top ten crypto rankings

ADA price on January 20, 2021: 0.358738 USD

ADA price on November 11, 2024: 0.592937 USD

Having been firmly in the top 10 in the last round of elections, and dubbed the “Ethereum Killer” with roots that can be traced back to one of Ethereum’s co-founders, Cardano is now a bit like that band from the 90s that still lingers on the charts, occasionally falling out of the top 10.

Critics like to call it a “ghost chain,” claiming there isn’t much construction and even fewer users showing up. The numbers are indeed eye-popping: Cardano has seen a decline in the number of core developers and active users.

Cardano's code commits and core developer count are down. Source: Token Terminal

However, Cardano has not sat back and let the skeptics have their say. The Chang hard fork, completed in September 2024, brought new features and scalability upgrades, showing that it still has some tricks up its sleeve. The network has also entered the Voltaire phase, which aims to achieve a decentralized governance model where users can directly participate in decision-making.

Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash: The original rebels fighting for relevance

Litecoin price on January 20, 2021: $149.80

Litecoin price on November 11, 2024: $77.38

Bitcoin Cash price on January 20, 2021: $501.72

Bitcoin Cash price on November 11, 2021: $438.73

In the early days of cryptocurrency, Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash were the champions of “spendable” cryptocurrencies — two currencies vying to become digital cash for everyday use.

Litecoin is a “slimmed down” version of Bitcoin with faster transactions and lower fees, while Bitcoin Cash forked from Bitcoin with a bold promise: to fulfill Satoshi Nakamoto’s original vision of peer-to-peer cash by increasing block sizes and lowering fees.

Both currencies have gained loyal followings and even some merchants have joined in, but their paths have been more like nostalgia trips than the revolutions they were meant to spark.

In a world where Bitcoin has cemented itself as “digital gold” and newer cryptocurrencies offer advanced features like smart contracts and decentralized applications, Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash are struggling to stand out.

Countries banning crypto payments and regulatory red tape haven’t helped. While some pockets of adoption still exist — such as in cafes in Townsville, Ljubljana and parts of Buenos Aires — widespread use cases for everyday transactions have yet to materialize.

Both Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash have fallen out of the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market cap, ranking 25th and 19th respectively.

Behind the scenes of DeFi

LINK price on January 20, 2021: $20.51

LINK price on November 11, 2024: $13.99

Chainlink isn’t meant to be “digital cash” or a “smart contract superstar,” but rather to be the backbone of the crypto world, quietly holding the DeFi world together.

While other cryptocurrencies chase headlines and retail hype, Chainlink is working to deliver price data, weather forecasts, and other real-world information to the blockchains that need it. Since Trump took office, Chainlink has solidified its role as the go-to oracle service, making it the ultimate unsung hero of decentralized finance.

The recent launch of Chainlink 2.0 adds even more power to its oracle network. The upgrade introduces a decentralized oracle network that enables dynamic non-fungible tokens, automated blockchain functionality, and all sorts of new DeFi magic.

With staking finally available, LINK holders can now secure the network and earn rewards — a long-awaited benefit that powers this data-driven ecosystem. Chainlink is now more capable of completing complex tasks, proving itself to be not only reliable but also versatile.

LINK’s price has not risen steadily as its reputation suggests. The token has been hit by volatility and competition. New oracle providers have entered the market, and some DeFi projects are building their own oracles.

Not on the excellent Stellar

XLM price on January 20, 2021: $0.291680

XLM price on November 11, 2024: $0.109166

Stellar was founded in 2014 by Ripple co-founder Jed McCaleb to provide fast, low-cost international transactions, connecting everyone from financial institutions to the unbanked.

Since Trump took office, Stellar has made great strides in the central bank digital currency (CBDC) space, notably launching a pilot project in Ukraine to test a digital version of the hryvnia.

But Stellar’s ​​journey has not been smooth sailing. Competition in the cross-border payments space is intensifying. Governments exploring CBDCs typically look to centralized solutions or established platforms like Ethereum.

As the market increasingly favors DeFi-focused chains with high call usage, Stellar’s ​​XLM token has suffered. As of November 8, 2024, it has fallen from 10th to 35th position.