Bitcoin prices topped $100,000 for the first time ever on Wednesday as the cryptocurrency continued its record-setting run in the wake of President-elect Trump’s election victory and more buzz that the incoming administration will have a crypto czar.
The price of bitcoin rose from $69,121 the day before Election Day to what was then an all-time high of $74,445 on Nov. 6, the day after the election.
From there, bitcoin’s surge has continued, and it broke the $80,000 mark for the first time on Nov. 10 and then eclipsed the $88,000 threshold for the first time the following day. By Nov. 13, bitcoin was trading above $92,800 before a slight decline.
The surge in crypto has driven investors into related exchange traded funds. 2X Bitcoin Strategy ETF, Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, Hashdex Bitcoin and ProShares Bitcoin are among the year’s top performers, tracked by VettaFi, all with triple digit returns well over 100%.
Bitcoin had been trending higher in the lead up to the election, but Trump’s victory over Vice President Kamala Harris helped fuel sentiment among investors that pushed it to new highs.
SEC COMMISSIONER BACKS TRUMP’S PLAN TO END CRYPTO CRACKDOWN
Trump campaigned on bringing a more favorable regulatory approach to bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies and digital assets.
He also pledged to make the U.S. the “crypto capital of the planet” and the “bitcoin superpower of the world” at a conference over the summer, and said that he would establish a crypto advisory board.
FOX Business, in recent days, reported the incoming Trump administration wants to expand the power of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission by granting it oversight of a significant portion of the $3 trillion digital asset market.
A possible contender is former CFTC Chairman Chris Giancarlo who recently spoke to FOX Business.
“With adequate funding and under the right leadership, I think the CFTC could hit the ground running to begin regulating digital commodities on day one of Donald Trump’s presidency,” said former CFTC Chairman Chris Giancarlo.
Trump, during his campaign, promised to remove Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler, who has overseen a regulatory crackdown on the digital assets industry in a push to root out bad actors – an effort that has drawn criticism from pro-crypto advocates.
However, Gensler beat him to the punch and announced he plans to leave the agency in January.
President-elect Trump announced Wednesday that he is nominating Paul Atkins to serve as the SEC chair.
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