Bitcoin surged to a new all-time high on Sunday, surpassing $80,000 (around Ksh.10.4 million) for the first time, driven by traders’ optimism about Donald Trump’s potential return to the White House and its positive impact on cryptocurrency. This jump follows a steady increase since Trump's victory in last Tuesday's U.S. presidential election, amid speculation he may relax regulations on digital currencies.
Analyst Charles Morris from ByteTree noted that “the odds that Bitcoin and crypto will become a significantly larger asset class have risen markedly.” Bitcoin had previously hit $75,000 on Wednesday, breaking its March peak of $73,797.98. Stephane Ifrah of Coinhouse, a French crypto asset management company, shared that he expects this bullish trend to continue for up to a year, with $100,000 as the next potential milestone.
Trump, widely seen as the pro-crypto candidate against Democrat Kamala Harris, had previously criticized cryptocurrencies as scams during his first presidency but has since shifted his stance, even launching his own digital currency platform, World Liberty Financial. Trump has pledged to position the U.S. as the "bitcoin and cryptocurrency capital of the world" and plans to assign Elon Musk to conduct an extensive audit of government inefficiencies.
Trump's previous term saw tax cuts that boosted market liquidity and encouraged investment in high-growth assets like cryptocurrency. While World Liberty Financial’s initial token sale in early November saw slow uptake, Trump continues to champion crypto initiatives. Leading up to the election, he made waves as the first former president to use bitcoin for a public purchase—buying burgers in a New York City restaurant, marking what the establishment called a "historic transaction."
Bitcoin, which trades continuously, including on Sundays, has drawn attention over the years for its extreme volatility and high-profile industry collapses, such as that of FTX.
