While there probably is a lot of criminal activity taking place in crypto, it is unlikely it is the go to for the same reason it has not been adopted as a currency for the business world. No one wants to accept Bitcoin (pick your coin/token) at 15k and 1 month later it is only worth 11k. The fluctuations from manipulation are to extreme to be a safe transaction choice at this time.
With Trump, I am guessing he believes (like many) in the federal Reserve debt notes. They have been very kind for him, allowing him to leverage cash flow that allows him the luxury of being a paper billionaire. For any who wish to understand more, I recommend reading or watching videos by Robert Kiyosaki on the techniques of using debt to acquire cash flow assets.
Yup, the volatility is not for regular currency use. It's just a medium for the speculators to trade. Trade coins to ride and dump...