Market News

By Sidhartha Shukla

(Bloomberg) -- Bitcoin rallied past $80,000 for the first time on Sunday, boosted by President-elect Donald Trump’s embrace of digital assets and the prospect of a Congress featuring pro-crypto lawmakers.

Trump was declared the winner in Arizona, marking a clean sweep of the seven US battleground states. His decisive victory in the US presidential election has prompted celebratory chest-thumping from the crypto industry, which spent more than $100 million backing a range of crypto-friendly candidates in the US election.

“With the dust from Trump’s victory still settling down, it was only a matter of time before a run-up of some sort occurred given the perception of Trump being pro-crypto, and that’s what we’re seeing now,” said Le Shi, Hong Kong managing director at market-making firm Auros.

The largest crypto token climbed as much as 4.7% to an unprecedented $80,092 before falling back to around $79,700 as of mid-morning in New York.

Trump vowed on the campaign trail to put the US at the center of the digital-asset industry, including creating a strategic Bitcoin stockpile and appointing regulators enamored with digital assets. 

ETFs, Fed

Bitcoin has added about 91% so far in 2024, helped by robust demand for dedicated US exchange-traded funds and interest-rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. The rise in the largest digital token, which scaled fresh records after the US vote, exceeds the returns from investments such as stocks and gold.

The ETFs, powered by BlackRock Inc.’s $35 billion iShares Bitcoin Trust, posted a record daily net inflow of almost $1.4 billion on Thursday, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. A day earlier, the iShares ETF’s trading volume jumped to an all-time peak — all signs of how Trump’s victory is reshaping crypto.

Trump’s stance contrasts with a crackdown on digital assets under President Joe Biden. Securities & Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler repeatedly labeled the sector as rife with fraud and misconduct. The agency turned the screws on crypto following a 2022 market rout and a litany of collapses, notably the bankruptcy of Sam Bankman-Fried’s fraudulent FTX exchange.

Digital-asset companies and executives spent heavily during the US election campaign to promote candidates viewed as favorable toward their interests.

“Trump has promised supportive regulation, and the sweep of the House and the Senate makes the passage of crypto bills much more likely,” wrote Noelle Acheson, author of the Crypto Is Macro Now newsletter.

--With assistance from Mumbi Gitau.

(Adds Trump victory in Arizona and refreshes prices.)