Bitcoin Reaches New All-Time High of $76,000 Following Trump's Victory

This surge was largely driven by Trump's unexpected shift from criticising bitcoin as a "scam" to embracing a pro-crypto platform.

On Wednesday, bitcoin hit a new all-time high of $76,000 following former US President Donald Trump's victory over Vice President Kamala Harris in the American presidential election.

This surge comes after Trump's unexpected shift from criticising bitcoin as a "scam" to embracing a pro-crypto platform. His newfound support attracted millions of dollars in cash and digital asset donations from influential Silicon Valley tech leaders.

In 2019, Trump tweeted, "I am not a fan of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, which are not money and whose value is highly volatile and based on thin air. Unregulated crypto assets can facilitate unlawful behaviour, including drug trade and other illegal activity.”

This change of stance contributed to the recent surge in bitcoin prices, which are up by 77 percent this year. Bitcoin jumped nearly 8 percent in early trading on Wednesday, smashing its previous record of $73,000 set in March.

Other cryptocurrencies also soared, with ether, the world’s second most popular one after bitcoin, also rallying 8 percent. Trump supporter Elon Musk’s favourite cryptocurrency, dogecoin, soared 18 percent.

Also Read: Forbes India @15: Bitcoin, 15 years later, digital gold or risky investment?

Crypto enthusiast and lawyer Suril Desai believes that the surge in bitcoin was bound to happen. At the bitcoin conference in Nashville, then-candidate, and now president, Trump ignited the spark, declaring his vision of the US as the 'superpower of bitcoin’. That was just the beginning.

Now, institutional giants have entered the arena. MicroStrategy, the biggest corporate holder of bitcoin, announced plans to raise another $40 billion to invest, signalling rock-solid support.

“With bitcoin ETFs making it easier for anyone to join in and its credibility recognised across financial institutions, bitcoin isn't just rising—it's redefining what a legitimate asset class can be. Watch as demand pushes it higher. The future is here,” Desai said.

Trump has declared that he would install a crypto advisory council in his first 100 days in office, establish favourable regulation to encourage domestic “made in the USA” bitcoin mining, launch a strategic national bitcoin stockpile, and replace Securities and Exchange Commission chair Gary Gensler, who has become an opponent to the crypto industry.

This year’s presidential election was touted as the most important in the crypto industry's lifetime, with Trump claiming to make the US the ‘crypto capital’ of the world. All eyes are on his plans to execute this.

In the 2012, 2016 and 2020 elections, bitcoin saw returns of roughly 87 percent, 44 percent and 145 percent in the 90 days following Election Day, respectively, according to CNBC. This is also because election years happen to fall on bitcoin halving years, when the supply of the cryptocurrency goes downward.

“Bitcoin is on its way to reach $100K before December and $150K before March 2025,” said Sidharth Sogani, founder and CEO of Crebaco Global, a crypto and blockchain market research and ratings firm. “Trump is pro-bitcoin and will promote decentralisation and self-custody regulations. This, coupled with a better economic and geopolitical situation will boost the prices furthermore.”