PRESIDENT-ELECT Donald Trump’s pick of a crypto proponent to be the next head of the US securities regulator lifted Bitcoin to within a whisker of a record US$100,000 as traders warmed to the prospect of relaxed regulations.
The largest digital asset rose more than 3 per cent to US$99,226 at one point in the US on Wednesday (Dec 4) before easing to US$98,451 early in Asian trading on Thursday. The crypto market overall has jumped by roughly US$1.4 trillion since Trump’s US election victory on Nov 5 on a platform that includes a tight embrace of crypto.
Trump selected Paul Atkins to replace outgoing Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) chair Gary Gensler, who cracked down on digital assets after a 2022 market rout exposed fraudulent practices and sparked costly blowups.
Speculators also digested comments from Russian President Vladimir Putin, who said at an economic forum in Moscow that nobody can prohibit the use of Bitcoin and other virtual currencies.
It’s an open question whether these events can help the original cryptocurrency imminently break above “the wall of selling” ahead of US$100,000, IG Australia Pty Market Analyst Tony Sycamore wrote in a note.
Bitcoin on Nov 22 was less than US$300 from achieving US$100,000 for the first time but fell back while remaining in sight of the landmark level. Crypto’s adherents view the six-figure number as a validation of controversial claims that Bitcoin is a modern-day store of value and hedge for inflation risk.
Meitu’s disposals
Critics highlight the volatility of Bitcoin, whose 135 per cent advance this year raises questions about how much further the rally can go. Meitu, a provider of tools to create digital content, just sold all its Bitcoin and Ether holdings for about US$180 million, citing “a good opportunity to realise a sizeable gain”.
US exchange-traded funds for Bitcoin have attracted a net inflow of about US$32 billion this year, including over US$8 billion since Trump became president-elect, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The combined trading volume for digital assets and related derivatives across centralised exchanges climbed to a record of more than US$10 trillion last month, according to CCData.
Trump has vowed to undo a Biden administration clampdown on digital assets, install friendly regulators and turn the US into the global home of crypto. The Republican even backed the idea of a strategic national Bitcoin reserve, though there are doubts over whether the latter objective is feasible. BLOOMBERG
