In the wake of Donald Trump’s election victory, Bitcoin has surged to new heights, surpassing $80,000 on Sunday.
The world’s largest cryptocurrency surged in the run-up to Tuesday’s US presidential election, rose sharply immediately on election night after it became clear Trump would win and has continued rising in the days since his victory.
Bitcoin is up 80 percent this year, dwarfing the S&P 500’s 25.7 percent gain this year. After briefly touching the $80,000 milestone, bitcoin was trading just below it Sunday mid-morning.
It comes as the Republicans are edging closer to overall control of Congress after having already secured the presidency and a majority in the Senate. On the campaign trail, the president-elect pledged to make the US “the crypto capital of the planet”.
Trump’s victory a “good sign for bitcoin”
The crypto industry believes Trump’s victory is a good sign for bitcoin and other digital currencies. Although Trump was once a bitcoin skeptic, once saying it “was based on thin air,” he has fully embraced crypto in recent months — unlike the Biden administration, which has sought to rein in crypto.
The president-elect has embraced cryptocurrencies in his campaign, even accepting donations in Bitcoin, Ether, Dogecoin, and Solana. His pro-crypto stance has caught the attention of many in the crypto community.
One major reason for Trump’s shift in stance on cryptocurrency is his newfound financial interest in it. In September, he and his children launched a new crypto venture called World Liberty Financial, CNN notes.
“It’s very young and very growing,” Trump said of the cryptocurrency industry on September 16 while unveiling World Liberty Financial. “I do believe in it.”
The Biden administration, by contrast, has been far more skeptical of crypto. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler said in June 2021, in one of his first speeches in his then-new job, that crypto was “ripe with fraud, scams and abuses.”
Trump: Cryptocurrencies could “define the future”
Trump said in August that cryptocurrencies could “define the future,” adding he wanted it “mined, minted and made in the USA.” The president-elect also proposed a strategic national bitcoin stockpile, akin to America’s strategic petroleum reserve, directly purchasing and investing in cryptocurrencies as a national security measure.
Trump has said one of his first actions as president would be to sack the current chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Gary Gensler.
Gensler, who was appointed by Joe Biden in 2021, has led the SEC’s crackdown on the crypto industry.
Elon Musk, one of Trump’s most visible and ardent supporters, is a notorious crypto bull. Musk’s favorite coin, Dogecoin, surged more than 20 percent on Sunday and had been soaring all last week.
Related: How a Trump or Harris Election Win Could Impact Bitcoin?
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