Will America’s crypto frenzy end in disaster?

“Get your $TRUMP now,” came the message from America’s president-elect three days before his inauguration. The commander-in-chief’s meme cryptocurrency, the aggregate value of which has so far peaked at almost $15bn, is far from the only sign of the administration’s ardour for digital assets. One new government department (DOGE) has been christened after another meme coin. It is now quicker to list people close to the president who do not have significant financial interests in crypto than those who do. For anyone not paying attention, an executive order on January 23rd made things clear: digital assets, it announced, would play “a crucial role in innovation and economic development in the United States, as well as our Nation’s international leadership”.