U.S. Political Earthquake Boosts Crypto Markets

Bitcoin and the crypto market woke up to a political plot twist. In a surprise bullish turn, U.S. policymakers are suddenly embracing crypto – and prices are reacting faster than you can say “HODL.” The headline event came via Truth Social: Former (and now again) U.S. President Donald Trump announced a plan for a U.S. “strategic reserve” of cryptocurrencies and actually named five specific coins to include. In a post that nobody saw coming, Trump singled out Bitcoin, Ethereum (ETH), XRP, Solana (SOL), and Cardano (ADA) as assets for the national crypto reserve. This was the first confirmation of which cryptos the government would stockpile, and the market absolutely lost its mind (in a good way). Within hours, each of those coins spiked in value, with Bitcoin and Ether jumping over 10% on the news.

Let’s put this in perspective: Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, popped over $94,000 per coin on Sunday after Trump’s reveal. Ether wasn’t far behind, pumping to about $2,516. Altogether the crypto market added roughly $300 billion in value within hours. Not bad for a weekend rally, right? Crypto traders were buzzing that the U.S. government might soon be a Whale in the market. “This move signals a shift toward active participation in the crypto economy by the U.S. government,” said Federico Brokate of 21Shares, adding it could “accelerate institutional adoption...and strengthen the U.S.’s leadership in digital asset innovation.” In plain English: Uncle Sam is (finally) aping into crypto, and that’s huge for confidence. Even skeptics were intrigued (if a bit skeptical) that Trump’s list went beyond just Bitcoin. “Unlike bitcoin... these other assets are more akin to tech investments,” noted James Butterfill of CoinShares, hinting that the government might be playing favorites in the crypto tech space.

It’s not just one tweet (er, Truth) either – there’s a broader regulatory about-face happening in D.C. Over on Capitol Hill, lawmakers are moving to roll back certain crypto regulations that the industry disliked. The U.S. Senate is poised to vote this week on reversing an IRS rule that targeted decentralized finance (DeFi) projects. This IRS rule, pushed through in late 2024, would have required DeFi platforms to report user transactions (treating them like brokers for tax purposes), a mandate the crypto world said would stifle innovation. Now, using the Congressional Review Act, a group of pro-crypto senators (led by Ted Cruz, among others) aims to scrap that rule entirely.

Even U.S. regulators themselves seem to be easing off the brake pedal. Under the new administration, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has reportedly withdrawn investigations into several crypto companies and even dropped its high-profile lawsuit against Coinbase. That lawsuit had hung like a dark cloud over the industry, so its dismissal was greeted with relief – and a few sarcastic memes about SEC lawyers “having entered a rekt phase.” Combine that with news of the White House hosting a Crypto Summit this week (with actual industry CEOs and regulators sitting down together for once), and you have the feeling that the U.S. government is actually trying to friend-request crypto rather than fight it.

Meanwhile, in an even more surprising turn of events, the first country to ever adopt Bitcoin as legal tender just hit the brakes. Remember El Salvador’s big Bitcoin experiment? Well, three years in, they’re dialing it down. In 2021, El Salvador grabbed headlines (and a truckload of laser-eyed Twitter avatars) by making Bitcoin official legal tender alongside the U.S. dollar. Fast forward to 2025: facing economic pressures, El Salvador’s parliament has amended the Bitcoin law to make accepting BTC optional for merchants. It’s a reminder that not all governments are yelling “to the moon!” – some are whispering “maybe not right now.”

What the Heck Is a Satoshi (and Why Should I Care)?

If you’re new to crypto, the word “Satoshi” might sound like a character from an anime or a fancy sushi roll. In reality, a satoshi (sat) is the smallest unit of Bitcoin, and it’s named after Bitcoin’s mysterious creator, Satoshi Nakamoto. Think of how a dollar can be split into 100 cents – but with Bitcoin, one coin can be split into 100 million tiny pieces. Each of those pieces is a satoshi. Yes, 100,000,000 sats = 1 BTC.

This ultra-fine divisibility is one of Bitcoin’s superpowers. It means Bitcoin can accommodate microtransactions and tiny payments in a way regular money can’t. Even if Bitcoin’s price is tens of thousands of dollars, a satoshi is worth just fractions of a penny. Today, with BTC around $94k, one sat is roughly $0.00094. That’s insanely small – but incredibly useful. Why? Because it gives Bitcoin flexibility. Many in the crypto community actually prefer talking in sats now. “Stacking sats” is the rallying cry of Bitcoin maximalists, meaning steadily accumulating satoshis over time. It sounds cooler to say “I stack 1,000 sats a day” than “I save 0.00001 BTC” – even though those are equal amounts.

So there you have it: Satoshi 101. It’s the lego brick of the Bitcoin world – tiny on its own, but fundamental and building-blocky.

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How U.S. Political Shifts Are Shaking Up Crypto & Why You Should Care About Satoshis