Bitcoin soars as investors bet on a boom under a Trump presidency

The price of Bitcoin rose above $92,000 on Wednesday, as investors continued to bet on a cryptocurrency boom during Donald Trump’s second presidency.
The most widely traded cryptocurrency was trading at a record $92,427 during afternoon trading in New York, up 5.1 per cent on the day and 35 per cent since the November 5 election. Ether, another cryptocurrency, has risen 35 per cent to $3,279.58 since the election. Meanwhile, Dogecoin, an alternative token promoted by billionaire Trump-ally Elon Musk has risen 156 per cent to $0.41 since November 5.
During his election campaign, Trump pledged to make the US the “crypto capital of the planet” and to build a national stockpile of bitcoin. Investors are hoping for a more friendly regulatory environment for crypto currencies during the next Trump administration after the president-elect pledged to fire Gary Gensler, chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, who has pursued several enforcement actions against crypto companies.
MicroStrategy, the Software company and investor in bitcoin, announced it had spent about $2 billion buying bitcoin between October 31 and November 10. Shares in Coinbase, the largest US cryptoexchange have risen 58 per cent to about $307 since the election.
Carl Szantyr, managing partner of digital asset hedge fund Blockstone Capital, said: “Key areas to monitor include potential regulatory changes, increased institutional participation, and a rise in M&A activity.
“The new political landscape may bring clearer regulations for crypto assets and could prompt strategic developments, such as a national bitcoin reserve and growth in the mining sector.”