LONDON — The price of bitcoin hit a new high on Wednesday, as investors bet that Donald Trump‘s victory in the US presidential election would be a boost for cryptocurrencies.
Bitcoin rose almost 8% in morning trading, surpassing $75,000 and breaking its March record. Other cryptocurrencies also soared, including ether, the second most popular cryptocurrency in the world after bitcoin, which appreciated 8%.
Trump used to be skeptical about cryptocurrencies, but changed his mind before the election.
He promised to turn the United States into “the crypto capital of the world” and create a “strategic reserve” of bitcoin. His campaign accepted cryptocurrency donations and courted crypto fans at a conference in July. He also launched World Liberty Financial, a startup with members of his family to trade cryptocurrencies.
Bitcoin is up 77% this year.
“Bitcoin is the one asset that was always going to skyrocket if Trump returned to the White House,” said Russ Mold, chief investment officer at AJ Bell, a British cryptocurrency platform. After reaching its new high, the market is now speculating about “when, not if, it will break $100,000,” he said.
“Trump has already declared his love for the digital currency and crypto users now have a new narrative to get even more excited about where the price could go,” Mold said.
Crypto industry players welcomed Trump’s victory, hoping that he could push through the legislative and regulatory changes they have long requested.
Trump had already promised that, if elected, he would remove Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler, who has been leading the US government’s battle against the cryptocurrency sector.
“Tonight, the crypto voter has spoken decisively — across party lines and in key races across the country,” said Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase, one of the largest cryptocurrency platforms. “Americans care disproportionately about crypto and want clear rules of the game for digital assets. We look forward to working with the new Congress to achieve this,” Armstrong posted on the X social network.
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This story was translated from English by an AP editor with the help of a generative artificial intelligence tool.
