Trump Crowned Crypto Leader as BTC Climbs to $87K — Interview
Trump Named Crypto Person of the Year as Bitcoin Pulls Back to $87,000
Donald Trump has been named “Crypto Person of the Year,” a recognition that arrives amid a year of major political and regulatory developments for the digital asset industry and significant moves in bitcoin’s price.
In an interview with the Guardian, Thompson said he believes many people in the crypto industry have been unfairly punished in recent years. He also said he welcomes Trump’s enthusiasm for the sector, pointing in particular to Trump’s October pardon of Changpeng Zhao, the former CEO of crypto exchange Binance.
Zhao had pleaded guilty to violating anti-money-laundering laws after Binance failed to report suspicious transactions, including those involving organizations such as al‑Qaida, according to the Guardian interview summary.
The comments and recognition come against a backdrop of strong market performance for much of the year. Bitcoin nearly doubled from when Trump was elected in November 2024 to an all-time high of around $126,000 per coin in October. More recently, bitcoin has fallen back to about $87,000.
The broader significance is the way politics, enforcement actions, and high-profile legal outcomes continue to shape perceptions of the crypto industry. The pardon of a prominent exchange executive, combined with public support from a sitting president, highlights how regulatory and political decisions can become central to the industry’s direction—even as market prices remain volatile.
