Bitcoin has surpassed the $100,000 mark, riding a surge of investor confidence fuelled by US President-elect Donald Trump’s pro-crypto stance.
The world’s largest cryptocurrency rose to $103,800 on Thursday, representing a 50% increase since Trump’s November election victory.
The rally gained momentum after Trump named cryptocurrency advocate Paul Atkins to chair the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), indicating a shift towards a more favourable regulatory climate.
Atkins’ appointment, combined with Trump’s promise to make the United States “the bitcoin superpower of the world,” has energised the market.
“Bitcoin reaching $100k is an incredible milestone for our movement,” said Kris Marszalek, CEO of Crypto.com. “We never doubted. We never wavered. And we will never stop building.”
Trump’s crypto-friendly government has also appointed Howard Lutnick to the Commerce Department and Elon Musk to co-lead the “Department of Government Efficiency,” called “DOGE” after the popular cryptocurrency Dogecoin, which has increased by 150 percent since election day.
According to the Financial Times on Thursday, this gain contrasts sharply with the sector’s slump two years ago, when FTX collapsed and regulatory crackdowns drove Bitcoin falling below $16,000.
Now, institutional money is pouring in, with BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF alone managing $45 billion in assets.
Cameron Winklevoss, co-founder of Gemini, summarised the sentiment: “This bitcoin bull run is unique. We have a pro-technology president-elect, a red Senate and House, and a national mandate to create.”
With $4.4 billion invested in crypto ETFs since November and companies such as MicroStrategy planning to raise $42 billion for additional Bitcoin investments, economists foresee a “golden era” for digital assets under the new administration.
Earlier in November, Bitcoin had surpassed the $80,000 mark, reaching an all-time high of $81,858 amid post-election excitement in the United States, as pro-crypto legislation appeared more possible under Trump.
Just three days later, the world’s largest cryptocurrency hit a new high above $90,000.
Meanwhile, a check by Chronicle NG at 5:33 am on Coin Market Cap showed the coin at $102,724.32, up more than 7% in the last 24 hours.
Notably, Trump’s previous administration was highly sceptical about digital currencies, but the president-elect has subsequently embraced crypto, promising to make the US the “crypto capital of the planet.”
According to CNBC, Trump threatened to retain “100 percent of all Bitcoin that the US government currently holds or acquires in the future” and to fire SEC Chair Gary Gensler, whose tenure included over 100 regulatory actions against crypto businesses.
