fb-pixelBitcoin surges to record as crypto investors cheer Trump win Skip to main content

Bitcoin surges to record as crypto investors cheer Trump win

On the campaign trail, President-elect Donald Trump promised to establish the United States as the “crypto capital of the planet.”David Lombeida/Bloomberg

Bitcoin surged to a record of more than $75,000, as cryptocurrency investors celebrated President-elect Donald Trump’s prospects after his decisive win Wednesday.

The price broke the record of roughly $73,000 that bitcoin set in March, when new investment products linked to the digital currency started trading on Wall Street. This time, the surge was driven by the election. The odds of a Trump victory rose Tuesday to nearly 90 percent on an influential crypto-powered betting website that digital currency investors track closely.

Many crypto proponents believe that a Trump victory would be good for the industry. For the past two years, the Biden administration has conducted an aggressive crackdown to curb securities violations by crypto companies, forcing some of those firms offshore and raising questions about the industry’s long-term future in the United States.

Advertisement



On the campaign trail, Trump has promised to end the regulatory push and establish the United States as the “crypto capital of the planet.” Before the election, analysts predicted that a Trump victory could send bitcoin to $80,000 or $90,000.

Bitcoin has long been known for its volatility. Its price crashed in 2022 after a series of industry scandals culminated in the collapse of the FTX crypto exchange.

But the price surged this year when the US government allowed a new investment vehicle tied to bitcoin — a type of exchange traded fund — to begin trading on Wall Street. The products drew billions of dollars of investment, sending bitcoin soaring.

Soon the crypto industry’s attention turned to the election.

The industry spent tens of millions of dollars to influence dozens of key congressional races across the country, in one of the most aggressive corporate spending sprees in modern political history. A group of affiliated super political action committees, financed by crypto firms Coinbase and Ripple, raised more than $170 million to elect pro-crypto politicians to Congress.

Advertisement



Those super PACs did not participate in the presidential race. But prominent executives, including Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, founders of the Gemini crypto exchange, donated large sums to support Trump’s campaign.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

YOU'VE BEEN SELECTED
Only $1 for 6 months
Special offer just for you. Only $1 for unlimited access. Cancel anytime.