- The global market value of cryptocurrencies rose 2.4% on Monday, reaching a high of $3.7 trillion in 2025.
- Cumulative trading volume in the cryptocurrency market exceeded the $640 billion mark for the first time since November.
- Bitcoin, Solana, and XRP reached all-time highs during the market frenzy fueled by Trump’s inauguration.
- The Trump and Melania tokens reached unicorn status within hours after launch, pulling capital away from legacy meme coins like DOGE, PEPE, and SHIB.
Bitcoin Market Updates: Trump’s inauguration has sent the price of Bitcoin to all-time highs
The price of Bitcoin reached a new all-time high above $109,000 on Monday, amid exhilarating speculative trading surrounding the presidency of Donald Trump.
Bitcoin open interest vs. Bitcoin price Source: Coinglas
Bitcoin open interest fell by $2 billion, despite prices rising to all-time highs, suggesting that traders are reluctant to enter into new positions around current prices.
This could be an early signal of an impending Bitcoin price correction.
Altcoin Market Updates: Vitalik Announcement Leads to Ethereum Rebound with SOL and LINK Emerging as Biggest Gainers
While Bitcoin prices reached record highs on Monday, altcoin markets suffered extreme volatility.
Amid fears of tariff announcements in the inauguration speech, many traders chose to turn to Bitcoin, XRP, Solana, and Chainlink, the newly launched TRUMP and MELANIA tokens with close ties to the Trump presidency.
TOTAL3 (Market Cap of Cryptocurrencies excluding BTC and ETH) | Source: Trading View
TradingView’s TOTAL3 represents the growth in global market capitalization of cryptocurrencies, excluding Bitcoin and Ethereum.
The chart above shows altcoins’ market cap falling 6% to $1.09 trillion on Monday, while top-rated assets BTC, XRP, and SOL made significant gains over the past 24 hours.
This confirms that the majority of cryptocurrency investors are leaning towards higher-rated Tier 1 assets in an attempt to hedge against the risk of a negative sell-off following the inauguration.
With the opening ceremony now over, early market signals point to significant downside risks ahead, with trading volumes rising over the past week indicating oversupply in altcoin markets.
Major altcoin price movements today
- Ethereum price is reclaiming the $3,250 resistance level
The price of Ethereum (ETH) saw a sharp rebound on Monday, rising above the $3,250 level after co-founder Vitalik Buterin participated in community requests to halt further Ethereum sales to fund Ethereum Foundations’ operations. The moderate rebound in Ethereum prices comes amid a period of declining demand and increased market volatility, which previously pushed Ethereum to a weekly low.
- Trump and Melania’s symbolic performances
President Donald Trump launched the TRUMP meme, which quickly gained significant attention. Initially sold at $3 each, TRUMP token rose to an intraday high of $76.94, achieving a market cap of around $15 billion.
However, the subsequent issuance of First Lady Melania Trump’s $MELANIA token, which peaked at $9.30, led to a sharp decline in the value of TRUMP.
This dynamic shift indicates that traders quickly moved from $TRUMP to $MELANIA, causing both symbols to fall more than 40% from their daily highs.
Investors are expressing concerns that the potential introduction of additional tokens could lead to increased interest dilution and impact ratings.
- XRP crosses $3 and reaches seven-year high
The price of XRP crossed the $3 mark, reaching an intraday high of $3.34, an increase of 16% over the past 24 hours.
This rise has been attributed to lower core inflation in the US, increased expectations of interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve, and anticipation of new exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that will own cryptocurrencies directly.
In addition, positive developments in the SEC’s legal case against Ripple have strengthened investor confidence in XRP.
- Solana price hits all-time highs as Trump tokens spark residual demand frenzy
Solana (SOL) rose to a new all-time high, hitting $275 as the blockchain hosted the highly publicized Trump-themed tokens, $TRUMP and $MELANIA.
The launch of these tokens sparked a wave of speculative demand, not only for the tokens themselves but also for the native SOL token.
While the network faced another outage, investors continued to flock to SOL, with trading volume on Trump and Melania tokens exceeding 20 billion combined over the past 24 hours.
This impressive performance highlights SOL as a key asset to watch as the Trump presidency unfolds.
Chart of the Day: Privacy Coins (PayFi) Lead Crypto Market Performance as US Tiktok Ban Raises Surveillance Concerns
Privacy coins have emerged as the best-performing cryptocurrency sector in the cryptocurrency market amid growing concerns about digital surveillance.
Reports of a possible TikTok ban in the US, and potential tariff announcements, have raised fears of increased government surveillance, leading to increased demand for privacy-preserving cryptocurrencies on the US President’s inauguration day.
Privacy Coins (PayFi) Sector Performance | Source: Soso Value
XRP and Stellar (XLM) showed synchronized price action this week, as they traded higher due to their shared historical ties.
With XRP trading at $3.14, up 2.94% in 24 hours, and XLM up 2.19% to $0.45, both tokens benefited from overlapping investor interest.
This connection stems from the founding history of Stellar, created by former Ripple CEO Jed McCaleb, which often led to parallel trading patterns during market rallies.
The impending US ban on TikTok and speculation about new tariffs targeting China have raised fears of increased financial surveillance and oversight.
With investors taking hedging positions ahead of Trump’s inauguration speech, the privacy coin sector rose 5% to become the best-performing sub-sector of the altcoin market ever.
Monday. Notable privacy coins Litecoin (LTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Dash (DASH), and eCash (XEC) have historically seen increased demand during periods of geopolitical turmoil and surveillance concerns.
Heading into this week, Litecoin (LTC) rose 2.04% over the past 24 hours to $118, further underscoring its historical reputation as “digital silver.”
Likewise, Bitcoin Cash (BCH), which is often seen as a faster, more privacy-focused alternative to Bitcoin, was trading at $433.50 despite a slight pullback.
Dash (DASH) and eCash (XEC) also represent growing demand for privacy-preserving features. Dash rose 0.63% to $36.51, while XEC rose 2.16% to $0.00003402, benefiting from its ability to offer anonymous and efficient transactions.
With the impending US TikTok ban and speculation about new tariffs targeting China still hanging in the balance, these tokens will likely support growing market demand in the coming days.
Cryptocurrency News Updates: Mark Cuban Unveils Trump-Inspired Meme Coin to Reduce US Debt
- Billionaire businessman Mark Cuban has announced plans to launch a meme coin aimed at addressing the US national debt.
Inspired by the $TRUMP token, the Cuban project will direct all revenues from coin sales to the US Treasury.
When deciding on the proposal for X, pledge a 20% float and an issuance schedule identical to TRUMP.
“If memes are the way to go, maybe I’ll issue one. Same terms as $TRUMP… There’s one difference: all revenue generated from the sale of the coins goes to the US Treasury.
Mark Cuban, January 20, 2025.
While acknowledging the speculative nature of memecoins, Cuban framed the initiative as a transparent gamble to help reduce debt.
The proposal has sparked controversy among cryptocurrency enthusiasts, with some raising concerns about investor risks and distribution challenges
- Carolyn Pham appointed acting head of the CFTC by Trump
President Donald Trump has appointed CFTC Commissioner Carolyn Pham as acting chair of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
Agency members confirmed Pham’s appointment, noting her leadership in developing digital asset regulations.
Pham has previously led initiatives such as the establishment of a Subcommittee on Digital Asset Markets and proposed a regulatory framework to oversee the cryptocurrency sector.
- Gensler exits as Trump appoints Mark Ueda as acting head of the SEC
President Donald Trump has appointed Mark Ueda, the Republican commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission, as acting chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Ueda replaces Gary Gensler, who served during the Biden administration.
Trump also announced plans to nominate former SEC Commissioner Paul Atkins as permanent chair, signaling a potential shift in the SEC’s approach to digital assets.
Ueda, along with Commissioner Hester Peirce, has been an advocate for clearer cryptocurrency regulation and criticized Gensler’s heavy-handed enforcement strategy.
Ueda and Pierce are reportedly preparing to introduce significant reforms to cryptocurrency policies, including reconsidering contentious issues such as last year’s cryptocurrency accounting guidance that sparked criticism in Congress.
However, major policy changes may face challenges due to the current structure of the SEC, with only three commissioners — Ueda, Pierce, and Democrat Carolyn Crenshaw. Under quorum rules, unanimous approval is required to establish new rules, giving Crenshaw effective veto power over proposed reforms.
(This story was corrected on January 21 at 03:40 GMT to say that the global market capitalization of cryptocurrencies grew 2.4% on Monday, reaching a high of $3.7 trillion in 2025, which is not a new all-time high.)
