Bitcoin continued its relentless surge higher, climbing above $88,000 for the first time, boosted by President-elect Donald Trump’s embrace of digital assets and the prospect of a Congress featuring pro-crypto lawmakers.

Trump’s decisive victory in the presidential election has prompted celebratory chest-thumping from the digital-asset industry, which spent over $100 million backing a range of crypto-friendly candidates. Bitcoin has surged more than 30% since last week’s election, setting record highs almost daily.

“Bitcoin continues to defy expectations by setting new highs,” said Chris Newhouse, director of research at Cumberland Labs. “The market is moving like it finally realizes we’re going to be in an undeniable bull market for the next few years.”

The largest token climbed as much as 10% to an unprecedented $88,204 in New York. It’s the biggest jump since the price increased almost 13% in March 2023. Bullish sentiment lifted smaller coins too, including Dogecoin, a meme-crowd favorite promoted by Trump supporter Elon Musk, the world’s richest man.

Shares of crypto-related companies also surged. Bitcoin proxy MicroStrategy gained 26% and U.S. crypto exchange Coinbase jumped 20%. Crypto miners MARA Holdings and Riot Platforms climbed 29% and 17%, respectively.

Bitcoin options traders are already eyeing a landmark price of $100,000 for the original cryptocurrency. Investors are lining up bets that Bitcoin will pass the milestone as soon as the end of the year, according to data from crypto options exchange Deribit.

As of Monday morning in London, there was 9,635 Bitcoin — worth roughly $780 million — in open interest bet on Bitcoin hitting $100,000 by Dec. 27, Deribit data shows. That’s the most riding on any trade for that expiry date. Deribit puts the chances of the trade paying off at 18.6%.

Trump’s agenda

Trump vowed on the campaign trail to put the U.S. at the center of the digital-asset industry, including creating a strategic Bitcoin stockpile and appointing regulators enamored with digital assets. Jubilant traders for the moment are paying little heed to questions such as the speed of likely implementation or whether a strategic stockpile is a realistic possibility.

His broader agenda of stoking domestic economic growth, tax cuts and reducing red tape has fueled a buying spree across stocks, credit and crypto. The S&P 500 equity index last week hit its 50th record this year.

Bitcoin has more than doubled so far in 2024, helped by robust demand for dedicated U.S. exchange-traded funds and interest-rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. The rise in the token, which also scaled fresh records after Tuesday’s U.S. 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.

Institutional demand

“We believe a significant portion of the institutional market de-risked in the lead-up to the election and is now re-entering post Trump’s win, creating material buying pressure — this is likely to be ongoing for some time yet,” said Richard Galvin, founder of crypto-focused investment firm DACM.

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 spent heavily during the election campaign to boost candidates viewed as favorable to their interests. Against that backdrop, Trump did an about-face, becoming a supporter of an industry he once labeled a scam.

“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 and David Pan.)

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