Bitcoin’s price climbed past $100,000 late on Wednesday as the crypto kept up its record-shattering momentum in the aftermath of the US presidential election victory of Donald Trump, a former crypto hater turned advocate.
Since he won, there have been heightened expectations of a crypto-friendly regulatory environment, a situation that has aided Bitcoin’s bullish run.
A Roller Coaster Month For Bitcoin
On the eve of the November 5 election, Bitcoin’s price was around $69,121, but a day after the vote, its price had reached $74,445, which was an all-time high at that time.
More record increases will soon follow as the price surged past $80,000 on November 10 and then $88,000 on the 11th. A couple of days later, on November 13, the price of BTC hovered above $92,800 before declining slightly.
Notably, Bitcoin’s price has positively impacted investments in Bitcoin ETFs, which were approved in the US early this year.
For example, the likes of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, 2X Bitcoin Strategy ETF, ProShares Bitcoin, and Hashdex Bitcoin have achieved triple-digit returns (well in excess of 100%), thus ranking among top-performing ETFs in 2024.
ETH, whose price usually correlates with that of BTC, expectedly also saw a price increase late on Wednesday, moving up to $3,870, an increase of more than 5.4% within the last 24 hours.
However, the BTC price euphoria aided by the Republican Party victory seemed to have cooled off a bit in recent weeks as the coin stayed at just under the $100,000 mark for a while. Some analysts attributed this lull to a lack of a new catalyst to drive up bullish sentiment.
Trump Chooses Crypto-Friendly Paul Atkins As New SEC Chair
That catalyst arrived on Wednesday as President-elect Trump announced his nomination of Paul Atkins as the new chair of the US Security and Exchange Commission (SEC). A few hours after the announcement, Bitcoin soared past $100,000.
Atkins is a former pro-crypto SEC commissioner who is expected to implement policies that will help facilitate growth in the crypto industry. This is in contrast to the departing Gary Gensler who, despite approving spot ETFs, fought aggressively to stifle the expansion of the industry.
The very experienced Atkins had also served as co-chairman of the Digital Chamber of Commerce, a body that promotes the utilization of digital assets.
The president-elect noted that “Paul is a proven leader for common sense regulations. He also recognizes that digital assets and other innovations are crucial to Making America Greater than Ever Before.”
Reacting to the latest BTC price surge on his platform, X, Elon Musk wrote: “Wow.” Musk had supported Trump’s campaign with several million dollars.
In his reaction, Anthony Pompliano, a popular crypto advocate and founder and CEO of investment company Professional Capital Management, said in a post on X Wednesday night.
