Budrul Chukrut | SOPA Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images
Bitcoin hit another high Monday, as the rally in cryptocurrencies continued following Donald Trump’s election win.
The price of the flagship cryptocurrency was last higher by more than 12% at $89,174, according to Coin Metrics. Recently, it hit a fresh high of $89,623. Ether was up more than 7% to $3,371.79 after a 30% gain in the past week that pushed it back over the $3,000 mark over the weekend.
The decentralized finance token tied to Cardano ticked 4.7% higher. Dogecoin continued to rise, up almost 24%. In the regular trading session on Monday, Coinbase closed up 19.8%, while MicroStrategy advanced more than 25.7%. Both stocks were higher in extended trading as well.
Bitcoin touches $80,000 on Sunday for the first time ever.
Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at investment platform Hargreaves Lansdown, noted that crypto’s march higher comes amid “euphoria” in the market unleashed by Trump’s presidential win last week.
“His pledge to go all in on crypto has sent Bitcoin to fresh heady heights,” she said in a research note Monday.
“He’s made an about turn on supporting the industry and is now vowing to turn the U.S. into the crypto capital of the world. Bitcoin speculators are betting on a more clement regulatory environment, and have expectations that the authorities may build up a reserve crypto fund, helping lift ongoing demand.”
On the campaign trail, Trump made a slew of promises to the crypto industry, including making the U.S. the “crypto capital of the planet” and insisting that all bitcoin should be mined in the country.
He also pledged to unseat U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler — who has taken an aggressive approach to crypto — despite the fact that the president does not have the power to do so.
In a research note last week, Citi strategists highlighted that crypto had been one of the “few Trump trades that has yet to retrace.”
“Part of the reason is due to the anticipated cryptofriendly nature of Trump’s administration, which investors hope will translate into regulatory clarity in the U.S.,” the strategists, led by David Glass, said.
They noted that since the election, spot crypto ETFs had seen some of their largest-ever inflows.
“Specifically, net inflows for BTC and ETH ETFs in the two days post-election were $2.01bn and $132mn, respectively,” they said. “We continue to see ETF flows as the main driver of Bitcoin returns.”
Looking ahead, some analysts expect crypto to continue to rise, with a number saying bitcoin is on track to hit the $100,000 milestone by the end of the year.
