Crypto prices tumble as Trump-fueled boom fizzles out #CriptoNews

STORY: Cryptocurrency prices are taking a big tumble, with bitcoin down around 6% in Friday trade.

It’s now off about a fifth from peaks hit around the time of Donald Trump’s inauguration.

The top crypto token now lost almost all the gains made after his election win sparked general optimism for the sector.

Market watchers say digital money fans are increasingly disappointed by a lack of major steps from Trump.

He came to power promising to be a “crypto president”, and has taken some steps to deliver on that.

Crypto-friendly figures have been named to prominent posts.

And regulators have seemed friendlier to the sector, dropping some investigations and abandoning a probe into top U.S. crypto exchange Coinbase.

But Trump hasn’t ordered the U.S. to start buying bitcoin.

For now, he has just asked a working group to examine the idea of a national crypto reserve and consider new digital asset rules.

That disappointed some industry analysts, who say expectations for the new president may have been too lofty.

Other factors may also be weighing on bitcoin and rivals.

That includes concern that further U.S. interest rate cuts could be delayed if inflationary pressures mount again.

Rival tokens have done even worse than bitcoin, however.

Ether is down over 40% since December.

And Trump’s own so-called memecoin has lost 80% of its value since being launched days before his inauguration.

All told, nearly $1 trillion in value has been wiped off the global crypto market by the slide in prices.