South African Crypto Exchanges See Surge in Trading Volumes Following Donald Trump’s Election Victory

The recent surge in cryptocurrency enthusiasm follows Donald Trump's election victory, which has sparked a wave of optimism across South African exchanges.

Bitcoin price recently hit a new all-time high of $94,000, representing a 30% increase from its previous record of $71,000 set in June 2024. This latest surge comes after a brief drop to $87,300 within 24 hours of reaching $93,477.

Bitcoin's strong performance follows Donald Trump's victory in the U.S election, sparking optimism among cryptocurrency enthusiasts in South Africa. Trading volumes have surged on South African exchanges since early November 2024.

Bitcoin's price briefly touched R1.7 million before settling at R1.63 million on November 18 2024, almost doubling in value since late October 2024.

Bitcoin price hits $94,000 in latest all time high with $100k expected by year’s endBitcoin's previous all-time high came less than a week ago, reaching $93,477 before dropping to $87,300 within 24 hours. https://t.co/WAGREgJ7LZ pic.twitter.com/NWC8bYDq00

Bitcoin's recent surge has also generated hopes of clearer cryptocurrency regulations, which could benefit both traditional finance firms and digital assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Richard de Sousa, the CEO of AltcoinTrader, a South African crypto exchange, reported a massive increase in trading volumes following Trump's victory.

“We’ve seen a massive increase in trading volumes since Trump won the US election, anything between 200% and 400% depending on the coin,” said De Sousa.

“We know the other exchanges in SA have seen similar increases in volumes.”

Other South African crypto exchanges have indeed experienced similar trends.

The rise in trading is particularly noticeable in Bitcoin and the U.S dollar-backed stablecoin, Tether, which has become a popular store of value.

“Tether has become the dominant trading pair on trading exchanges. Everyone’s buying. It’s crazy,” De Sousa added.

[Q&A] $USDT Is Extremely Popular in Emerging Markets Like Africa – A Chat with Chief Technology Officer, TetherBitKE got an exclusive chat with Paolo Ardoino, the Chief Technology Officer at @Tether_to, the leading stablecoin in the worldhttps://t.co/w53pHUXVic pic.twitter.com/9x221zsyB4

MemeCoin Dogecoin also saw a massive increase in trading, with volumes jumping more than 130% amidst Elon Musk's continued promotion of the coin.

Christo de Wit, the Country Manager for Luno SA, noted that trading volumes had surpassed previous records set in March 2024.

“What a time for crypto. It’s been a tremendous two weeks with excitement on the price movements [of cryptos],” said De Wit.

“We’ve experienced significant volume on our platform, surpassing the levels previously experienced in March 2024 when BTC reached its previous all-time high. Exchange volume has more than doubled, and we are continuing to see increased volume on Luno.”

VALR CEO, Farzam Ehsani, also pointed to the growing interest from corporations and nations exploring Bitcoin as part of their portfolios.

“Many more corporates and sovereign states are rethinking their portfolio allocation, particularly with the U.S speaking about a strategic bitcoin reserve,” said Ehsani.

VALR recently crossed one million users, doubling its user base in 2024 alone, largely influenced by the ongoing bull run.

FINTECH AFRICA | Nigerian Investment Fintech, Risevest, Acquires Hisa, a Kenyan Investment Fintech Startup🇿ＡＭＩＬＥＳＴＯＮＥ | South African Leading Crypto Exchange, VALR, Doubles User Base in 2024 Surpassing 1 Million UsersVALR has added 500,000 users to its platform in 2024 alone with 1 in 4 users coming from outside South Africahttps://t.co/kwP7kvgAbf @VALRdotcom @farzamehsani pic.twitter.com/86qI1eMQde

Trump's stance on Bitcoin, including a potential strategic bitcoin reserve, is adding further momentum to the cryptocurrency's bull run in 2024.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin's rise is pushing traditional financial institutions to reconsider their stance on the cryptocurrency. The surge has also bolstered altcoins, with Ethereum nearing its all-time high. As market sentiment reaches ‘Extreme Greed,’ fewer Bitcoin holders are willing to sell, signaling growing confidence in the market.

There is now ‘Extreme Greed’ following the new #Bitcoin $95K all-time high.