Donald Trump’s arrival in the White House promised a new era of adoption and favorable regulations for the cryptocurrency sector. This hope, initially shared by Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson, now appears to have given way to deep disillusionment, a shift that began with the launch of the TRUMP memecoin.
Charles Hoskinson Criticizes Donald Trump’s Crypto Policy
During his election campaign, Donald Trump made numerous promises regarding the cryptocurrency sector. This approach was widely welcomed and supported by a U.S. ecosystem weary of fighting against the repressive policies directed at it by the Biden administration and former SEC Chair Gary Gensler.
At the time, Cardano blockchain founder Charles Hoskinson liked to present himself as a close crypto advisor to Donald Trump. This position would allow his ADA token to be included in the initial announcements of a national strategic cryptocurrency reserve—already a far cry from the one initially and exclusively promised in Bitcoin.
Then Donald Trump launched his TRUMP memecoin, and nothing would ever be the same again. This crossed a line that would trigger what Charles Hoskinson describes as an obvious loss of credibility for the crypto ecosystem, now caught between toxic politicization and “institutionalized financial predation.”
The TRUMP memecoin has fallen by over 80% since its launch
All of this opens up the debate on market manipulation and ultimately turns into a campaign talking point for 2026. When the Democrats run for reelection, they’ll say: “crypto = Trump = bad,” “crypto = corruption.” This kind of behavior exploits the sector in such a way that half of America now hates cryptocurrencies.
Charles Hoskinson
A situation “worse than under Joe Biden’s presidency”
Faced with this situation, Donald Trump has reportedly squandered any chance of seeing crypto regulation implemented in a bipartisan and peaceful manner in the United States due to his repeated conflicts of interest, to the point of risking a delay that could extend into 2029.
To support his analysis, Charles Hoskinson highlights three key issues deemed problematic in Donald Trump’s crypto policy, particularly due to the lack of clarity and vision—other than opportunistic and short-term—within his administration:
- An incompetent “crypto czar,” David Sacks;
- A total lack of coordination with the crypto sector;
- A blurring of political, financial, and regulatory interests.
There is no accountability. There is no respect for the rule of law or the principle of separation of powers. It is a mechanism for transferring wealth to benefit Trump and his friends.
And it hasn’t helped any crypto players.
Charles Hoskinson
According to Charles Hoskinson, the cryptocurrency ecosystem has lost its original philosophical foundation in this race for personal enrichment. A reality also accelerated by the takeover of the sector by traditional finance, to the point of turning it into just another financial product.
Finally, he points to the accelerated development of AI as a far more immediate threat than the quantum risk, as it increases the risk of attacks and the detection of vulnerabilities that can be exploited by malicious actors.
