The price of bitcoin has hit a new all-time-high amid a crypto market frenzy fuelled by incoming US president Donald Trump.
The world’s leading cryptocurrency reached above $109,000 for the first time in its history on Monday morning, just hours before Trump is due to take office.
Bitcoin’s latest price surge follows the launch of Trump’s own cryptocurrency, as well as that of his wife Melania.
$TRUMP and $MELANIA were both launched over the weekend, with Trump’s coin reaching a market cap of more than $5 billion.
Trump has promised the crypto industry that he will make the US the “bitcoin capital of the planet” as president.
The incoming US president has pledged to set up a strategic bitcoin reserve, with speculation that it may be among his first executive orders after entering the White House on Monday.
“We believe Trump will turn some of his crypto rhetoric into action in his first 90 days in office and this should catapult prices,” Ed Hindi, chief investment officer at Tyr Capital, told The Independent.
“Creating a US bitcoin strategic reserve will be one of them. Other countries will be forced to follow suit and hence create a price action virtuous cycle.”
Other industry figures have warned of the crypto market’s unpredictability, with some noting that so-called meme coins like $TRUMP and $MELANIA are particularly susceptible to price volatility.
“This is a revival of the meme coin trend we saw in 2021 and 2022, where many young, inexperienced investors got burned by extreme volatility. Without doubt, investors will get burned by this frenzy too,” said Nigel Green, chief executive of wealth management advisory firm deVere Group.
“Let’s be very clear: this is more gambling than investing… “They’re mostly not buying because they think the coin has inherent value, they’re buying because they hope others will drive the price higher, allowing them to sell at a profit.”
