Islamabad, Nov 21: Bitcoin continued its upward trajectory toward $100,000 on Thursday, fueled by investor optimism that a more favorable U.S. regulatory stance under President-elect Donald Trump will ignite a boom for cryptocurrencies.
The cryptocurrency’s price surged past $96,000 for the first time in Asia trading, peaking just above $96,898.
Bitcoin has more than doubled in value this year, with a 40% rise in the two weeks since Trump’s election and the election of pro-crypto lawmakers to Congress.
“Although it’s now in overbought territory, it’s being drawn toward the $100k mark,” noted Tony Sycamore, an analyst at IG Markets.
Trump showed strong support for digital assets during his campaign, pledging to make the U.S. the “crypto capital of the planet” and to build a national bitcoin reserve.
Since the election, over $4 billion has flowed into U.S.-listed bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and this week saw a strong debut for options on BlackRock’s ETF, with call options, which bet on price increases, proving more popular than puts.
Crypto-related stocks have also seen significant gains, with shares of bitcoin miner MARA Holdings rising nearly 14%, and MicroStrategy, a software company investing in bitcoin, climbing 10%, pushing its market capitalization beyond $100 billion.
“Many are speculating whether this administration will finally bring the regulatory clarity the crypto community has been waiting for. It’s too soon to tell,” said Will Peck, head of digital assets at WisdomTree, a global ETF issuer.
“We view the current excitement as positive not just for bitcoin but for the entire blockchain ecosystem that’s rapidly developing.”
