Trump Is Pushing Bitcoin To Its All-Time High Once Again
Bitcoin is back near its all-time high, highlighting the deepening acceptance of the digital asset industry in the United States under the leadership of Trump, a supporter of cryptocurrencies. Market news that Trump Media Technology is in talks to acquire digital asset platform Bakkt has sparked a surge in the stock prices of both companies.
Other developments include Nasdaq's plan to list options for the $43 billion iShares Bitcoin Trust as early as Tuesday, and Goldman Sachs' push to spin off its digital asset platform, both signs that cryptocurrencies and their underlying blockchain technology are penetrating the financial system.
Bitcoin soared to $92,606 in the U.S. on Monday, and the price is $91,720 now. Since Trump won the election on November 5th, the largest digital asset has risen by 36%.
A Flood of Capital Inflow
Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone Group, wrote in a report that the cryptocurrency market is active again, adding that Trump Media's move on Bakkt is another positive news that boosts market sentiment.
Trump has promised to establish a U.S. regulatory framework conducive to digital assets and to set up a strategic Bitcoin reserve. However, when his promises will be realized and the feasibility of the Bitcoin reserve remain uncertain.
These issues have sparked debates on whether Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies can continue to rise. According to data from the Deribit exchange, the highest concentration of open interest (or open contracts) in the options market is bets on Bitcoin, which reach $100,000.
Katie Stockton, a technical analyst at Fairlead Strategies LLC, said that some signals from chart patterns suggest that Bitcoin may rise to around $98,100 in the coming weeks. Tony Sycamore, a market analyst at IG Australia Pty, said he prefers to buying Bitcoin when it retraces to $80,000.
ETF Options
BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust is the world's largest Bitcoin investment portfolio. The options for the iShares product may attract new investment into the crypto ecosystem by expanding trading possibilities. The iShares product is one of 12 spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds in the United States, and the fund has attracted about $4 billion in net inflows in the period after the election.
The current optimism in the cryptocurrency sector has faded memories of the painful market crash in 2022, which exposed fraud and other risky behaviors, leading to the collapse of platforms including SBF's FTX exchange.
On Monday, the woman who called herself the Wall Street Alligator and Razzlekhan in rap videos was sentenced to 18 months in prison for helping her hacker husband launder cryptocurrencies stolen from the Bitfinex exchange, and this twists and turns of history were thus revealed. The stolen Bitcoin is now worth tens of billions of dollars.
Trump used to be skeptical about cryptocurrencies, but after digital asset companies invested heavily during the campaign to protect their interests, he changed his strategy. The president-elect now has his own cryptocurrency project. Nathan Dean, a senior government analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, wrote in a report that the possibility of the U.S. fully passing cryptocurrency legislation by 2025 has risen to about 70%.