(Bloomberg) — Bitcoin neared historic levels of $100,000, fueled by optimism that newly elected President Donald Trump’s support for crypto will herald a boom as the U.S. moves to friendly regulation instead of a crackdown.
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The largest digital asset rose more than 3% to a record high of $97,659 as of 12:57 pm on Thursday in Singapore. The crypto market as a whole has contributed about $900 billion in gains since Trump’s November 5 election victory.
Trump’s transition team has begun discussions about whether to create a White House post dedicated to digital asset policy. The industry is pushing for the position – which would be the first of its kind in the US – to have a direct line to the newly elected president, who is now one of crypto’s biggest cheerleaders.
The talks are the latest U.S. boost to market sentiment for digital assets, joining Bitcoin accumulator MicroStrategy Inc.’s plans. to accelerate the purchase of the token and the debut of options on the country’s Bitcoin exchange-traded funds.
Speculators are increasingly focused on when, rather than whether Bitcoin will make a further jump to $100,000. Proponents of its claimed role as a modern store of value are cherishing the six-figure level as a symbolic rebuttal to skeptics who see little use for crypto and decry its links to money laundering and crime.
“Buyers are strangling sellers,” said Tony Sycamore, market analyst at IG Australia Pty. “While I’m not sure it will all be smooth sailing as the $100,000 mark approaches, demand seems insatiable.”
Sycamore also flagged speculation that “a big seller” has been selling tokens for as low as $90,000, taking advantage of the strong market.
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MicroStrategy, Bitcoin’s largest publicly traded company holder, on Wednesday announced a nearly 50% increase in its planned sale of convertible senior notes, up to $2.6 billion, to finance the purchase of the token.
The once obscure software maker now bills itself as a Bitcoin treasury company and has an inventory of about $31 billion in digital assets.
