Bitcoin hit a record high above $109,000 on Monday as Donald Trump, who has signalled plans to deregulate the cryptocurrency sector, prepares to be sworn in as US president
The world’s biggest cryptocurrency has soared since Trump won the presidential election in November, with bitcoin surpassing $100,000 for the first time in early December.
It came after he nominated cryptocurrency backer Paul Atkins to head the US securities regulator, reinforcing optimism that the new president will deregulate the sector.
Despite having once branded cryptocurrencies a “scam”, Trump changed his stance and was a major advocate of them during his election campaign.
When bitcoin reached the landmark $100,000 level, Trump wrote on Truth Social: “CONGRATULATIONS BITCOINERS!!! $100,000!!! YOU’RE WELCOME!!! Together, we will Make America Great Again!”
– $TRUMP –
Over the weekend, Trump launched his own cryptocurrency, a so-called meme coin appropriately called $TRUMP, sparking feverish buying that sent its market capitalisation soaring to several billion dollars.
“Beyond that optimism, Trump policies are expected to be a double-edged sword,” Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank, said on Monday.
“His pro-growth policies and deregulation are expected to benefit the US economy but his tariff policies will certainly lead inflation higher.”
The $TRUMP meme coin, which is designed to capitalise on the popularity of a personality, movement or viral internet trend, was unveiled by the president-elect in a post on his Truth Social platform and X — owned by fellow crypto enthusiast Elon Musk.
Bitcoin was conceived in 2008 by a person or group writing under the name Satoshi Nakamoto.
It was pitched as a way to break free of mainstream financial institutions by establishing a decentralised platform for transactions.
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