Trump trade turns to trash: Crypto bros feel the burn

The honeymoon is over—for President Donald Trump and for crypto enthusiasts alike.

A new Morning Consult poll shows Trump’s approval slipping to 45%, with disapproval climbing to 52%, down slightly from two weeks ago and far below the 52% approval he enjoyed at the start of his second term.

By party lines, he still commands near-universal support from Republicans (86%), while Democrats (11%) and Independents (33%) remain skeptical.

Even as the Dow Jones surged past 50,000 earlier this month, voters aren’t cheering. Only about half believe Trump has effectively tackled health care costs and grocery prices, with approval ratings of 42% and 44% for health care and the economy, respectively.

Disapproval is highest on these fronts, underscoring that record-breaking stock indexes aren’t translating into everyday relief.

Last year, crypto investors largely approved of Trump’s crypto policies and associated them with positive market impacts. Today, it’s a more mixed picture — some crypto holders are skeptical or critical of his approach or disappointed by outcomes.

The disappointment extends to cryptocurrency markets, where the post-election “Trump trade” rally is fizzling fast. Bitcoin, which soared above $125,000 in October 2025 on election euphoria, is down over 28% year-to-date. Enthusiasm for projects tied to the Trump administration, including memecoin $TRUMP, has evaporated, with some losing as much as 95% of their value.

Industry insiders cite a mix of factors: policy outcomes have underwhelmed, proposed legislation like the CLARITY Act may centralize control rather than enhance decentralization, and the market’s risk-off sentiment has replaced the previous speculative fervor.

Even supporters like Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson have labeled the administration’s crypto impact “somewhat useless,” while Nobel laureate Paul Krugman called the Bitcoin crash “the unraveling of the Trump trade.”

A survey from The Information shows that roughly 71% of respondents oppose the Trump administration’s cryptocurrency policies, with 59% strongly against them. Only about 20% expressed support.

Interestingly, even among crypto owners—around 40% of respondents—opposition outweighed support, bucking trends from other polls where crypto holders leaned pro-Trump.

Critics cited several concerns: potential conflicts of interest from Trump and his family’s crypto ventures, the risk that a strategic Bitcoin reserve could weaken the U.S. dollar, and broader worries over fraud, crime, and market volatility in digital assets.