The New Golden Age of Corruption

The new Trump administration is poised to usher in a modern kleptocracy where the boundaries between public service, private gain, and outright grift dissolve into a fog of opportunism.

Kleptocracy, defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as “a form of government in which the leaders use their power to steal money and resources from the country they rule,” may soon find its most brazen embodiment in the modern western world. Early signs suggest that corruption will not only be tolerated but institutionalized, signaling a significant departure from even the pretense of regulatory oversight.

Crypto: From Fringe to Center Stage

One of the first indicators of this new reality is the explosion of pump-and-dump cryptocurrency schemes tied to the Trump brand. In the 72 hours before taking office, the Trump family launched meme coins bearing their names—“TRUMP” and “MELANIA”—on the Solana blockchain. In those three days, these coins created a staggering $15 billion in nominal value, despite having no intrinsic economic utility. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), traditionally skeptical of crypto markets, appears set to abandon its opposition entirely under the new regime. The result? A regulatory vacuum that could transform the crypto space into a speculative free-for-all.

For Solana (SOL), this could be a windfall. With its high speed and low transaction costs, the blockchain has proven itself more efficient than Ethereum (ETH) for such ventures. However, Solana’s notorious vulnerability to technical disruptions—owing to its intricate validation process—poses risks to its sustainability. Still, as the primary host for these Trump-branded tokens, SOL may find itself a major beneficiary of the anticipated flood of unregulated crypto activity. Bitcoin (BTC), as the original and most widely held cryptocurrency, is also expected to gain from the broader market enthusiasm sparked by deregulation.

Meme Coins: A Symbol of the New Normal

The success of the Trump and Melania meme coins signals a broader trend: the normalization of economic value creation without any tether to productive activity. With the implicit blessing of the administration, opportunists are likely to follow suit, flooding the market with similar tokens designed to capitalize on the mania. While seasoned investors may steer clear of these high-risk ventures, the speculative fervor could redirect capital flows away from more established assets, including equities.

Even traditional markets may not be immune. Elon Musk’s Tesla (TSLA), a favorite of Trump and his base, could see its dominance challenged as investor attention shifts toward the new wave of Trump-themed financial products. Similarly, any Trump-affiliated ventures, including his eponymous DJT index, may face heightened volatility as the administration’s antics reshape investor sentiment.

The Pardon That Broke the Norms

Compounding this environment of corruption is Joe Biden’s last-minute decision to preemptively pardon all members of his family before leaving office. The move—unprecedented in its scope—sets a dangerous precedent. By insulating family members from future investigations, Biden has established a playbook that future administrations, including Trump’s, are almost certain to follow. This act erodes accountability at the highest levels of power and solidifies a culture where corruption is not only expected but protected. Of course this was compounded by the multiple pardons President Trump issued to the Jan 6th rioters and others on the conservative side of politics.

Deregulation’s Wider Implications

The implications of this new kleptocratic order extend far beyond crypto and presidential pardons. The normalization of grift undermines public trust in institutions and signals to both domestic and foreign actors that the rule of law is negotiable. In such an environment, speculative bubbles are likely to proliferate, enriching insiders while exposing retail investors to catastrophic losses. Meanwhile, traditional regulatory frameworks may struggle to adapt, creating fertile ground for fraud and exploitation.

How to trade this new era?

Investors should monitor the crypto space closely, particularly the performance of BTC and SOL, which stand to benefit from the deregulation-driven exuberance. However, the rise of meme coins should serve as a cautionary tale. Their success may inflate market values in the short term, but the long-term risks of overreach, technical instability, and eroding public confidence cannot be ignored.

In equity markets, Trump-linked assets and high-profile favorites like Tesla could experience significant volatility as capital is redirected toward speculative ventures. Meanwhile, the broader economy may suffer from a loss of credibility and increasing inequality, hallmarks of kleptocratic governance.

As the Trump administration’s kleptocratic tendencies come into sharper focus, the challenge for investors will be to navigate an environment where traditional markers of value and trust are increasingly obsolete. Whether this new “golden age” of corruption heralds a broader economic collapse or simply a dramatic reshuffling of winners and losers remains to be seen. What is certain is that the rules of the game have changed—and not for the better.

Full disclosure of my current trading portfolio positions:

Long: NVDA, MU, CRWD, PANW, HACK, QTUM, BOTZ, SOL, BTC, BHP Short: AAPL, TSLA, INTC, META, Nasdaq Index.