Bitcoin has surged to a new all-time high, crossing the $80,000 mark for the first time in its history, fueled by optimism that Donald Trump’s return to the White House will benefit the cryptocurrency market. The digital currency reached this milestone shortly after 12:00 pm (1200 GMT), continuing its upward trajectory following Trump’s victory in last Tuesday’s U.S. presidential election.
The rally is driven by expectations that Trump will ease regulations on digital currencies, which many believe will encourage greater adoption and investment. “The odds that Bitcoin and crypto will become a significantly larger asset class have risen markedly,” said Charles Morris, an analyst at ByteTree Investment.
Bitcoin had already topped $75,000 on Wednesday, surpassing its previous record of $73,797.98 set in March. Crypto experts are predicting that the bullish trend will continue for the foreseeable future. “We shouldn’t expect this bullish trend to be interrupted for a long time — about a year. The next level for me is $100,000,” said Stephane Ifrah, from French crypto asset management firm Coinhouse.
Trump has become a prominent figure in the pro-crypto camp, especially in contrast to his Democratic opponent, Kamala Harris. During his first presidency, Trump famously dismissed cryptocurrencies as a “scam,” but his views have since shifted. He has expressed plans to position the U.S. as the “bitcoin and cryptocurrency capital of the world” and to appoint tech billionaire Elon Musk to oversee a wide-ranging audit of government waste.
During his first term, Trump’s corporate tax cuts injected more liquidity into the markets, which many see as contributing to the rise of high-growth assets like cryptocurrency. In September, Trump announced plans to launch his own digital currency platform, World Liberty Financial, alongside his sons and other entrepreneurs. However, the platform faced a rocky start, with only a small fraction of its tokens being sold in its initial offering.
Despite the volatility and recent collapses of major crypto players, such as the FTX exchange, the digital currency market remains resilient. In the lead-up to the election, Trump reportedly became the first former U.S. president to use Bitcoin in a purchase, buying burgers at a New York City restaurant in what was hailed as a “historic transaction.”
