daniel chigunwe
President-elect Donald Trump’s pick of a crypto proponent to be the next head of the US securities regulator lifted Bitcoin to a record US$100 000 as traders warmed to the prospect of relaxed regulations.
The digital asset rose as much as 6.1 percent to US$103 801 on Thursday before changing hands at US$102 734 as of 11:37 a.m. in Singapore.
The crypto market overall has jumped by roughly US$1,3 trillion since Trump’s US election victory on November 5 on a platform that includes a tight embrace of crypto.
Trump selected Paul Atkins to replace outgoing Securities & Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler, who cracked down on digital assets after a 2022 market rout exposed fraudulent practices and sparked costly blowups.
Momentum rally’
“This is a momentum rally,” said Jason Titman, chief executive of crypto brokerage Swyftx.
“Global spot volumes are above mid-pandemic levels and the nomination of Paul Atkins as SEC chair just added to the carnival atmosphere.”
Bitcoin on November 22 was less than US$300 from achieving $100 000 for the first time but fell back while remaining in sight of the landmark level.
Crypto’s adherents view the six-figure number as a validation of controversial claims that Bitcoin is a modern-day store of value and a hedge for inflation risk.
Hitting US$100 000 is “a huge milestone for the token and the crypto industry as a whole,” said Caroline Mauron, co-founder of Orbit Markets, a provider of liquidity for crypto derivatives. “We expect further momentum from here for the coming days,” she added.
ETF demand
US exchange-traded funds for Bitcoin have attracted a net inflow of about US$32 billion this year, including over US$8 billion since Trump became president-elect, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
The combined trading volume for digital assets and related derivatives across centralised exchanges climbed to a record of more than US$10 trillion last month, according to CCData.
Trump has vowed to undo a Biden administration clampdown on digital assets, install friendly regulators and turn the US into the global home of crypto. The Republican even backed the idea of a strategic national Bitcoin reserve, though there are doubts over whether the latter objective is feasible.
“Investors must remember that an asset doesn’t go up in a straight line forever,” said Josh Gilbert, market analyst at eToro.
“Drawdowns for Bitcoin are par for the course, but it feels like it’s going to take something big to slow down Bitcoin right now.”
The crypto market outside of Bitcoin was mixed Thursday. Meme-crowd favorite Dogecoin rallied, Ether was steady and XRP retreated. The pattern of trading indicated speculators were diverting some funds to market-leader Bitcoin. — Wires
Bongani Ndlovu