Crypto Muscled onto the High Table of Politics by Deploying a Giant Campaign-Finance War Chest to Further Its Agenda

Bitcoin jumped to a record high, part of a wave of trades across global markets in response to Donald Trump emerging victorious

Bitcoin soared to a record high Monday as part of a wave of trades across global markets in response to Donald Trump emerging victorious over Democratic rival Kamala Harris in the US presidential election.

The largest digital asset rose as much as 10% to $76,106 with Trump winning a second term, the Republicans taking back the Senate and the House looking increasingly more likely to remain red. The increase was the most since the last peak in March, when investors were cheered by inflows into US Bitcoin exchange-traded funds.

Bitcoin is viewed by many as a so-called Trump trade because the former president embraced digital assets during his campaign after a major push by the industry.

Crypto muscled onto the high table of politics by deploying a giant campaign-finance war chest to further its agenda. Trump vowed to make the US the crypto capital of the planet, create a strategic Bitcoin stockpile and appoint regulators who love digital assets.

Harris adopted a more measured approach, pledging to support a regulatory framework for the industry. In contrast, the Securities & Exchange Commission under the Biden administration pursued a crackdown via a flurry of enforcement actions.

“The crypto industry feels like it’s been operating with one hand tied behind its back for years, and it senses that might be coming to an end,” said Matthew Hougan, chief investment officer of Bitwise Asset Management Inc. “People are starting to position for the next few years in crypto.”

In Ohio, Republican car dealer and blockchain entrepreneur Bernie Moreno beat Senate Banking Chairman Sherrod Brown in a race that saw crypto titans spend some $40 million to defeat the Democrat.

The prospect of friendlier US crypto rules led to gains across the digital-asset market. Second-ranked token Ether added about 12%. Dogecoin, a meme-crowd favorite promoted by Trump supporter Elon Musk, rallied 31% at one point.

Gensler’s Fate

Digital-asset companies often complained that officials under President Joe Biden failed to create a clear new legal framework for the nascent market.

SEC Chair Gary Gensler said existing rules apply and repeatedly labeled the sector as rife with fraud and misconduct. The agency cracked down on crypto following a 2022 market rout that triggered a litany of collapses, notably the bankruptcy of Sam Bankman-Fried’s fraudulent FTX exchange.

“The first test of his credibility to watch out for is whether he will deliver on his promise to fire Gensler on his first day in office,” said Le Shi, Hong Kong managing director at market making firm Auros.

Bitcoin has now advanced more than 80% in 2024, topping assets such as stocks and gold. US spot-Bitcoin ETFs, from issuers such as BlackRock Inc. and Fidelity Investments, have attracted $23.5 billion of net inflows following their launch at the start of the year — among the most successful new ETFs in history.