Bitcoin reaches new record above $80,000 after Trump’s victory – as leading forecaster calls $100,000 feasible

Bitcoin reached $80,000 for the first time yesterday, in the wake of Donald Trump’s resounding victory in the US elections.

The cryptocurrency continued its run today, rising 2 percent to trade at $81,886 at 12:30 p.m. London time. Bitcoin is now up 85 percent this year.

President-elect Trump has insisted he will make the US “the crypto capital of the planet.”

Geoff Kendrick, global head of digital asset research at Standard Chartered, predicts Bitcoin will continue to rise – with a $100,000 valuation “easily achievable” by the end of the year.

There has been a massive Bitcoin rally since the Republican’s victory last week, reaching $75,000 on election night, with recent gains driven by his victories in the swing states of Nevada and Arizona.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said Bitcoin was “always going to rise” if Trump won the election.

“Trump has already expressed his love for the digital currency and crypto traders now have a new story to get even more excited about where the price could go,” he added.

Why Did Trump Boost Bitcoin?

Trump was clear during his campaign that he wants to leverage innovation in the field of cryptocurrencies. writes Harvey Dorset

This could mean more crypto products, such as ETFs, entering mainstream financial markets.

So far, there are only 11 crypto ETFs available in the US, which were finally approved in January.

President Trump could make a big push to increase that dramatically. During his campaign, Trump said: “If crypto is going to define the future, I want it to be mined, minted and made in the US.”

The more bitcoin and other cryptos are pushed into the financial mainstream, with regulated products available for investment, the more likely it is that large institutional investors will allocate money to crypto.

Even if they only dedicate a small percentage of investments to crypto, their financial firepower creates substantial demand.

Glen Goodman, author of The crypto tradertold This is Money: ‘Trump is a late but apparently passionate convert to crypto. In 2019, he said, “I’m not a fan of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies” and in 2021, “It just seems like a scam,” shortly before launching his own collection of digital crypto trading cards, which made him millions of dollars.”

A major change in the US crypto landscape following Trump’s victory could be the resignation of Gary Gensler, chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

Speaking at a crypto conference in the summer, Trump said he would oust Gensler from the SEC “on day one” of his presidency.

It is likely that whoever favors Trump will be eager to support the new president’s innovation policies. Gensler has proven to be one of the main hurdles to creating new regulations for crypto assets.

> Read more: Why is crypto flying after Trump’s election victory?