Investing.com-- Bitcoin fell on Monday, reversing course after a weekend rally as increased market volatility in the wake of two memecoin launches from President-elect Donald Trump dented sentiment towards crypto markets.

Traders were also on edge before Trump’s inauguration later on Monday, with the President-elect expected to sign a flurry of executive orders outlining policy changes. But just what these changes would entail remained unclear, although Trump has promised more crypto-friendly policies during his term. 

Bitcoin fell 2.5% to $102,481.9 by 00:28 ET (05:28 GMT). 

Trump, Melania memecoin volatility dents crypto appetite 

Crypto markets initially cheered the launch of Trump’s memecoin, $TRUMP, which accelerated sharply since its launch on Friday. The token was seen rallying over 7000% within hours of its launch, gaining a market capital of over $14 billion. 

But the token was then subjected to heavy profit-taking, falling sharply from its weekend peaks. 

Trump also drew flak for launching a new memecoin themed around to-be First Lady Melania Trump, $MELANIA, with crypto traders raising some concerns over the ethical implications of Trump leveraging his political status to turn speculative markets in his favor. 

The launch of $TRUMP, of which the President-elect holds a significant number of tokens, greatly boosted his personal wealth, at least on paper. 

Trump policies in focus as inauguration looms 

Trump is set to take office from 12:00 ET (17:00 GMT) on Monday.

The President-elect has promised to dole out crypto-friendly regulations during his second term, and has vowed to make America the “crypto capital” of the world.

While Trump did nominate several pro-crypto candidates to key regulatory positions, markets were uncertain over what policies he will outline, given that some of his more ambitious promises, such as a Bitcoin Strategic Reserve, could require Congressional approval.

Uncertainty over the impact of Trump’s policies on the broader economy, especially given his hardline stance on immigration and trade, kept risk appetite subdued. 

Crypto price today: altcoins track Bitcoin losses

Broader crypto prices tracked losses in Bitcoin, as they also lost steam from a weekend rally.

World no.2 crypto Ether fell 0.3% to $3,287.29, while XRP fell 3.4% to $3.0939.

Solana, Cardano, and Polygon fell between 5% and 11%, while among meme tokens, Dogecoin lost 7.5%.