Bitcoin Price Hits All-Time High Amid Trump-Fueled Frenzy

As the incoming president arrives, the overall crypto market has gained half a trillion dollars. Bitcoin is at record highs. And people have invested billions in the memecoins of Trump and his wife.

The price of bitcoin has hit an all-time high ahead of the inauguration of Donald Trump, as he and his wife launched their own cryptocurrencies.

Trump has promised to promote digital currencies during his presidency, suggesting that he will loosen regulations and help booster their adoption.

But as his presidency approached, he also offered more specific support to the cryptocurrency market. After the launch of his own $TRUMP coin, his wife launched her own $MELANIA competitor – the combination of which led to volatility in the cryptocurrency market.

Trump launched his own coin on Friday night, marketing it with a picture of himself holding a fist up superimposed over the words “FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT,” a reference to his response to an assassination attempt at a political rally in July.

In promoting the meme coin, Mr Trump told supporters to “Have Fun!”

Key Points

Crypto world reacts to $TRUMP meme coin

Donald Trump was the darling of the crypto world after appearing at the Bitcoin 2024 Conference in Nashville last summer. He was the first US presidential candidate to be openly pro-bitcoin, telling the crowd that he was going to set up a strategic reserve and usher in a new era of crypto-friendly policies and regulation.

“We will have regulations, but from now on the rules will be written by people who love your industry, not hate your industry,” he said during a 50-minute speech, in which he also said he would make the US a “bitcoin superpower”.

But since launching his own meme coin, as well as one for his wife, some bitcoiners are now questioning his true intentions.

Bitcoin’s latest price gains in context

Bitcoin’s latest price record above $109,000 marks a 10 per cent surge over the last day. But zooming out, you can see this rally began long before Trump’s meme coin launch - and even before he was in the frame to become the Republican candidate.

The cryptocurrency has risen in value more than 500 per cent since the start of 2023, when the bull market began. It’s still not clear where the eventual peak of this rally will be, but previous cycles offer a warning of where it might go when the price correction kicks in.

Donald Trump’s net worth doubles following $TRUMP launch

The launch of the $TRUMP meme coin the weekend before his inauguration appears to have had a massive impact on the incoming president’s net worth.

Donald Trump’s net worth was around $7 billion (£5.7bn) before the launch of $TRUMP, ranking him in the world’s top 500 richest people – $7.16bn according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, and $6.7bn according to Forbes.

Neither of the estimations take into account his holdings of the cryptocurrency, which has a current market cap of $10bn.

The website for the $TRUMP project reveals that 80 per cent of the cryptocurrency is held by Trump Organisation affiliate CIC Digital, valuing the stake at $8bn – more than double his current net worth.

Melania and Trump memecoins have supercharged the market – but could end in disaster

Presidential memecoins have already raised – and lost – billions. That isn’t going to stop just yet, experts say.

Read more here.

How $Melania and $Trump meme coins just supercharged the crypto market

Billions have already been wiped from the value of the latest cryptocurrencies, with experts warning of more volatility

Melania coin fairly stable as inauguration approaches

It’s now been around half a day since Melania launched her “meme”. It’s had a rocky day or so – initially surging, then falling, then surging again and now on a fall – but it’s actually almost back to where it started: it’s up 16 per cent since launch, according to CoinMarketCap.

(Strictly, that shouldn’t matter. The official website refers to it only as a “meme” and says that they are “digital collectibles intended to function as an expression of support for and engagement with the values embodied by the symbol MELANIA. and the associated artwork, and are not intended to be, or to be the subject of, an investment opportunity, investment contract, or security of any type”.)

There’s another big winner of the US election: cryptocurrency

Bitcoin has been busy ever since it became clear that Donald Trump was going to win the election. While it has not always been positive news, it has been volatile since November, and this week marks the latest in that.

At least some of that excitement is because Trump backed cryptocurrency during his run for the president – and has suggested he will make good on that when he takes power. Here’s a look at how bitcoin and crypto could be one of the big winners from the election.

There’s another big winner of