Crypto under US pressure: asset protection strategies

Customs wars, geopolitical tensions, and the $37 trillion US debt are fueling inflation and shaking up financial markets. Cryptocurrencies, once an alternative to the banking system, have now become part of it, from bitcoin ETFs to government crypto reserves. But along with integration, vulnerability has also increased: rates react to the same global shocks as traditional assets. The main question remains whether the next economic crisis will be able to disrupt the future of cryptocurrencies?

Sources of cryptocurrencies

Bitcoin appeared in 2009 as a response to the 2008 financial crisis. An anonymous author under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto proposed decentralized money without banks or governments that could be transferred quickly, cheaply, and without censorship. Issuance is limited to 21 million bitcoins (mining will end around 2140), making it a deflationary asset protected from the fiat currency printing press.

Despite dozens of predictions of its disappearance, bitcoin has survived many crises over the past 16 years and has become part of the strategies of institutions, from ETFs to corporations and individual countries. Risks remain, but a complete disappearance is unlikely at this time.

Transition to official recognition

2024 was a landmark year for cryptocurrencies in the European Union: the MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets) regulation came into full force on December 30 of that year, ensuring transparency, public reporting, reserves and licensing of crypto projects (CASP) and thereby integrating digital assets into the official financial system.

At the same time, a political reversal was observed in the United States. Donald Trump, who had previously publicly criticized cryptocurrencies, changed his rhetoric after returning to the White House in 2025. He banned the development of CBDCs and supported legislation on stablecoins, the government canceled some of the SEC's lawsuits against crypto projects and the creation of a state crypto reserve. This was a signal to the market: cryptocurrencies are no longer on the periphery – they are becoming part of the state financial policy.