(Bloomberg) — Bitcoin is approaching the $80,000 mark for the first time, boosted by newly elected President Donald Trump’s embrace of digital assets and the prospect of a Congress with pro-crypto lawmakers.
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The cryptocurrency rose as much as 4.3% to an unprecedented $79,771 on Sunday, remaining around $79,000 as of 2:05 p.m. in Singapore. Smaller tokens like Cardano and meme crowd favorite Dogecoin also emerged.
Trump promised during his campaign to put the US at the center of the digital asset industry, including creating a strategic Bitcoin stockpile and appointing regulators enamored with digital assets. He emerged from Tuesday’s elections in a stronger position than expected: his Republican Party has control of the Senate and is on the cusp of a narrow majority in the House of Representatives.
“With the dust still settling from Trump’s victory, it was only a matter of time before some sort of run-up would happen given the perception that Trump is pro-crypto, and that’s what we’re seeing now,” Le said Shi. , Hong Kong-based Managing Director at market-making company Auros.
ETFs, Fed
Bitcoin has added about 90% so far in 2024, helped by robust demand for specialty US exchange-traded funds and interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. The rise of the largest digital token, which broke new records after the US vote, exceeds returns from investments such as stocks and gold.
The ETFs, powered by BlackRock Inc.’s iShares Bitcoin Trust. worth $35 billion, posted record daily net inflows of nearly $1.4 billion on Thursday, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. A day earlier, the iShares ETF’s trading volume jumped to a record high – all signs of how Trump’s victory is reshaping the crypto world.
Trump’s stance is in stark contrast to the crackdown on digital assets under President Joe Biden. Securities & Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler has repeatedly labeled the industry as one rife with fraud and misconduct. The agency turned the screws on crypto after a 2022 market crash and a litany of collapses, most notably the bankruptcy of Sam Bankman-Fried’s fraudulent FTX exchange.
Digital asset companies and executives spent a lot of money during the US election campaign promoting candidates seen as favorable to their interests.
“Trump has promised supportive regulation, and the influence of the House and Senate makes passage of crypto bills much more likely,” wrote Noelle Acheson, author of the Crypto Is Macro Now newsletter.
