$BTC
The crypto landscape of 2025 was sculpted by Donald Trump. He is our Person of the Year because almost all of the positives (and many of the negatives) can be directly or indirectly attributed to President Trump.
He legitimized crypto on the legal level and changed the vibe at the cultural level. Although the latter was positive and negative. More on that later.
The antagonism that characterized the previous administration vanished overnight. After assuming office, President Trump acted quickly to fulfill many of his crypto campaign promises:
Freed Ross Ulbricht
Established the Bitcoin Reserve
Appointed crypto-friendly Paul Atkins as SEC Chair
In July, Trump signed the GENIUS Act into law, creating a U.S. regulatory framework for payment stablecoins.
He sits at Number 1 because he is the multiplier effect for everyone else on this list:
Garlinghouse’s and Armstrong’s victories? Accelerated by the new regulatory stance.
Copland’s legitimization? The changed regulatory stance and called off the Biden-era attack dogs.
Tether’s treasury holdings? Legitimized by the administration’s recognition of stablecoins as a vital demand for U.S. debt.
The positive vibe shift in government and traditional finance was matched by a polarizing cultural shift along political lines.
Trump’s personal proximity to crypto markets made almost all people politically opposed to him also opposed to Bitcoin and crypto. Trump and Melania’s memecoins are, at best, embarrassing black eyes on the industry. The World Liberty Financial project and the $WLFI token have drawn criticism from lawmakers and market participants alike (many of whom are crypto-aligned) who argue Trump’s crypto ventures could pose conflicts given his role in shaping regulation.
Donald Trump almost single-handedly shaped the entire market’s psychology: bullish policy tailwinds, paired with reputational volatility.
That’s why Trump sits at #1 on a crypto Persons of the Year list.
