The spark that ignited the last great crypto bull run didn’t come from institutions — it came from everyday people armed with stimulus checks and a belief that digital assets were the future. Now, history may be preparing to rhyme once again.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest economic proposal a $2,000 “tariff dividend” funded by America’s projected $1 trillion in annual tariff revenue — could unleash a fresh wave of retail liquidity into the markets. Combined with an anticipated Fed rate cut, this injection of cash could dramatically shift the macro landscape, easing financial pressure on households and unlocking capital for risk-on assets like Bitcoin and altcoins.
The precedent is clear. In 2020 and 2021, stimulus-driven retail inflows sparked a crypto mania that saw Bitcoin dominance plunge from 73% to 39%, while altcoins — from DeFi tokens to memecoins — exploded in value. If this new wave of fiscal stimulus materializes, it could mark the beginning of a new liquidity cycle, one powered not by hedge funds or ETFs, but by millions of Americans rediscovering crypto as a high-upside asset class.
The question now isn’t whether liquidity would enter the system — it’s where it will go first. Will retail investors pour into Bitcoin’s safety and ETF exposure, or chase higher yields in altcoins, DeFi, and AI tokens like before?
If Trump’s “tariff dividend” becomes law, it could be the unexpected catalyst for the next altcoin season one that mirrors the energy, momentum, and cultural mania of 2021, but on an even larger scale.
