Remember the euphoria? Early 2025. Trump gets elected. The promise of a pro-crypto White House. Bitcoin skyrocketed. We all thought, "Finally, someone gets it!" You’d notice that your libertarian neighbor, who was always locked to Fox News, one day showing up with a Bitcoin t-shirt. To that end, he even began referring to himself as the “digital revolutionary.” People were excited.

Now? Look at the charts. Bitcoin's down. Our Fear and Greed Index is currently redder than a Vegas casino on fire. My neighbor? Return to seething in front of the TV at Fox, at “internet scams”. What happened?

The biggest disappointment? The Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, this Fort Knox nonsense. 198,000 seized Bitcoin. Doesn't cost taxpayers a dime, they said. Sounds great, right?

Empty Promises, Crushed Retail Dreams

Wrong. It's a joke. That’s like saying you’re going to create a national defense system using the Pb&j’s you came up with in your personal garage.

The “Bitcoin Act” sought to amass an incredible 1 million Bitcoin’s worth over the course of 20 years. This ambitious plan would chew through just 5% of the total supply! That would have created real demand. That would have sent a message: the US is serious about crypto.

Instead, we are treated to a cut-rate 21st-century Mission Impossible: Digital Edition. It’s not unlike promising a famished person that you’ll offer him an appetizer instead of the meal he ordered. Though it might feel safe, this “Fort Knox” isn’t Fort Knox—it’s Fort Fail. It represents a complete failure of imagination as to what’s required to actually make Bitcoin an integral part of the US economy. It is just a PR stunt.

The average retail investor. The man who invested his life savings in Bitcoin to achieve the American dream. The girl who started thinking of crypto as her exit from the establishment’s arms. They bought the hype. They believed the promise. And now? They’re getting stuck holding the bag, seeing their investments melt away while Trump plays with stolen digital coins.

Let's talk about the elephant in the room: $MELANIA and $TRUMP. Meme coins. Seriously?

Meme Coins, Serious Investor Betrayal

While the crypto world was hoping for thoughtful regulations and infrastructure development, the Trump camp was busy launching coins named after his wife and himself. Mints — as in named after a head of state and issued by her during a corresponding national crisis fidget spinners.

Here's the unexpected connection: it reminds me of the dot-com boom. Remember Pets.com? The sock puppet? Companies focused on gimmicks instead of substance. What happened? When they crashed and burned, they took millions of investors down with them.

On a technical level, the extraordinary concentration of ownership in $MELANIA is troubling. It reeks of insider trading and manipulation. How can you possibly call yourself pro-crypto if you’re pushing projects that are deliberately hurting investor confidence.

This isn't about innovation. It's about exploitation. It’s all about taking advantage of the hype and then leaving average investors with a bunch of worthless tokens. It’s a huge blow to all those who dare to hope in the promise of decentralized finance. It's a betrayal of trust. Anger? You bet. Outrage? Absolutely.

The story here is that Trump is the most pro-crypto president in history. But is he, really? Or is he just pro-Trump?

Pro-Crypto? Self-Serving Crypto Promotion!

His actions so far suggest the latter. He’s addicted to the attention that crypto lavishes on him. When it inflates his ego and creates positive headlines, he runs to claim credit. But when it comes to actually implementing those policies, he’s MIA. We want vigorous advocacy for sustainable economic development and smart growth and investor protection, but he doesn’t deliver.

Bitcoin’s deepening correlation with Wall Street is a third troubling development. The eventual launch of Bitcoin ETFs at first sounded like a game changer. In the process, it has turned Bitcoin to be more vulnerable towards traditional market forces and governments’ policies. Trump’s unpredictable actions only amplify this volatility.

This is not a partisan issue, not a left or right, Republican or Democrat thing. This is about competence. This isn’t just learning how to use the technology, this is about understanding what it can actually do. This is not just about stopping corruption, it’s about addressing special interests that profit at the expense of the public.

We need to demand more. We need to hold Trump accountable. We don’t have time to waste, we have to make it clear to him that empty promises and meme coins won’t cut it. We require specific policies that encourage innovation, protect investors, and support the safe, responsible adoption of cryptocurrency.

Don't let the hype blind you. Don't let the celebrity endorsements sway you. Do your research. Be skeptical. And most importantly, demand better. The future of crypto depends on it. Otherwise, prepare for more disappointment.

Don't let the hype blind you. Don't let the celebrity endorsements sway you. Do your research. Be skeptical. And most importantly, demand better. The future of crypto depends on it. Otherwise, prepare for more disappointment.