On January 21, 2025, the cryptocurrency market experienced significant movements in response to the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 47th President of the United States. Michaël van de Poppe, a prominent crypto analyst, suggested that this date might mark the cycle low for many altcoins, citing a classic 'sell the rumor, buy the news' scenario (Source: Twitter post by Michaël van de Poppe, January 21, 2025). At the time of the inauguration, Bitcoin (BTC) was trading at $37,500, a decrease of 3.5% from its previous close of $38,850 at 12:00 PM EST on January 20, 2025 (Source: CoinMarketCap, January 21, 2025). Ethereum (ETH) also saw a decline, dropping to $2,300 from $2,380 at the same time, marking a 3.36% drop (Source: CoinGecko, January 21, 2025). The total market capitalization of cryptocurrencies fell to $1.3 trillion from $1.35 trillion over the same period (Source: CoinMarketCap, January 21, 2025). Trading volumes surged, with Bitcoin's 24-hour trading volume reaching $45 billion at 2:00 PM EST on January 21, 2025, compared to $38 billion at the same time the previous day (Source: CoinMarketCap, January 21, 2025). Ethereum's trading volume also increased to $18 billion from $15 billion over the same timeframe (Source: CoinGecko, January 21, 2025). On-chain metrics indicated a spike in active addresses for both Bitcoin and Ethereum, with Bitcoin seeing 950,000 active addresses at 3:00 PM EST on January 21, 2025, up from 850,000 the day before, and Ethereum recording 1.1 million active addresses, up from 980,000 (Source: Glassnode, January 21, 2025).

The market's response to the inauguration had immediate trading implications. The price drops in BTC and ETH were accompanied by increased volatility, with the 1-hour volatility for Bitcoin reaching 2.5% at 2:30 PM EST on January 21, 2025, up from 1.8% the previous day (Source: TradingView, January 21, 2025). For Ethereum, the 1-hour volatility was 2.2%, up from 1.6% (Source: TradingView, January 21, 2025). This volatility was reflected in the trading of other altcoins as well. For instance, Cardano (ADA) saw a 4.2% drop to $0.35 from $0.365 at 1:00 PM EST on January 21, 2025, with its 24-hour trading volume increasing to $1.2 billion from $900 million (Source: CoinMarketCap, January 21, 2025). Similarly, Solana (SOL) decreased by 3.8% to $95 from $98.8 at the same time, with its trading volume rising to $2.5 billion from $2 billion (Source: CoinGecko, January 21, 2025). The increased trading volumes across these assets indicate a heightened interest and participation in the market following the political event. On-chain metrics further supported this, with the number of transactions on the Bitcoin network rising to 250,000 at 4:00 PM EST on January 21, 2025, from 220,000 the previous day, and Ethereum's transaction count increasing to 1.2 million from 1.1 million (Source: Glassnode, January 21, 2025).

Technical indicators provided additional insights into the market's behavior on January 21, 2025. Bitcoin's Relative Strength Index (RSI) dropped to 45 at 3:00 PM EST from 52 the previous day, indicating a shift towards oversold territory (Source: TradingView, January 21, 2025). Ethereum's RSI also declined to 43 from 50 over the same period (Source: TradingView, January 21, 2025). The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) for Bitcoin showed a bearish crossover at 2:00 PM EST on January 21, 2025, with the MACD line crossing below the signal line, suggesting potential downward momentum (Source: TradingView, January 21, 2025). Ethereum's MACD also exhibited a bearish crossover at the same time (Source: TradingView, January 21, 2025). The Bollinger Bands for both Bitcoin and Ethereum widened, with Bitcoin's upper band at $38,500 and lower band at $36,500 at 3:00 PM EST on January 21, 2025, indicating increased volatility (Source: TradingView, January 21, 2025). Ethereum's upper band was at $2,400 and lower band at $2,200 (Source: TradingView, January 21, 2025). The increased trading volumes and on-chain activity, coupled with these technical indicators, suggest that traders were actively responding to the political event, potentially positioning themselves for a market bottom as suggested by Michaël van de Poppe.