Bitcoin at record high after Trump’s crypto pledges

The price of bitcoin rose above $94,000 for the first time as the digital currency built on a rally in which its value has surged almost 40 per cent since Donald Trump’s election victory.
One bitcoin was worth $7,333 five years ago, but its value rose as high as $94,839 on Wednesday as the cryptocurrency was buoyed by optimism around a friendly regulatory environment during the president-elect’s second administration.
Trump, who was a crypto sceptic, has pledged to make America “the crypto capital of the planet” and to create a “strategic reserve” of bitcoin. His campaign accepted donations in cryptocurrency and he courted crypto fans at a bitcoin conference in July. He also launched World Liberty Financial, a venture with family members to trade cryptocurrencies.
Republicans have invited crypto leaders for talks in Washington since the election result to discuss a new crypto policy agenda.
Crypto industry executives hope that Trump will be able to push through legislative and regulatory changes. He had already promised that if he won he would oust Gary Gensler, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, who has been leading the government’s clampdown on the crypto industry.
Bitcoin was worth almost nothing when it was created in 2008 as strings of computer code which has no physical form. The notoriously volatile digital currency was developed by Satoshi Nakamoto, supposedly a secretive software developer whose true identity has never been uncovered.
Stéphane Ouellette, chief executive of the crypto trading firm FRNT Financial, said: “Trump’s seeming interest to push further into crypto on a personal level has contributed to optimism that crypto will be a top priority when Trump takes office.”
US spot bitcoin exchange-traded products have attracted about $4.2 billion in inflows since Trump’s election victory, about 15 per cent of the total inflows since the products were launched on US stock exchanges in January.
Chris Weston, head of research at Australian online broker Pepperstone, said “another kick higher should bring in a fresh chase from those who like to buy what’s strong”.