Bitcoin climbs closer to $100,000 on Trump’s support for crypto

On By Littum

(Bloomberg) — Bitcoin neared the historic $100,000 level, fueled by optimism that President-elect Donald Trump’s support for crypto heralds a boom as the U.S. shifts to friendly regulations instead of a crackdown.

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The biggest digital asset rose as much as 3.6% to a record high of $97,892 on Thursday before falling below $97,000 at 8.40 in London. The crypto market as a whole has gained approximately $900 billion since Trump’s election victory on November 5.

Trump’s transition team has begun holding discussions about whether to create a White House post dedicated to digital asset policy. The industry is pitching for the position — which would be the first of its kind in the United States — to have a direct line to the president-elect, who is now one of crypto’s biggest cheerleaders.

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The talks are the latest U.S. boost to sentiment in the digital asset market, along with Bitcoin accumulator MicroStrategy Inc.’s plans to accelerate purchases of the token and the debut of options on the nation’s Bitcoin exchange-traded funds.

Landmark level

Speculators are increasingly focused on when, rather than if, Bitcoin will make the jump to $100,000. Proponents of its purported role as a modern store of value appreciate the six-figure figure as a symbolic rebuttal to skeptics who see little utility in crypto and decry its links to money laundering and crime.

“Buyers are strangling sellers,” IG Australia Pty Market Analyst Tony Sycamore said. “While I’m not sure it’s all going to go smoothly, as it edges closer to the $100,000 mark, demand seems insatiable.”

MicroStrategy, the largest publicly traded corporate owner of Bitcoin, on Wednesday announced a nearly 50% increase in its planned $2.6 billion sale of convertible senior notes to fund purchases of the token. The once-obscure software maker now bills itself as a Bitcoin finance company and holds roughly $31 billion worth of the digital asset.

ETF inflows

A group of a dozen U.S. ETFs that invest in Bitcoin have attracted net inflows of $5.8 billion in the post-Election Day period, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The group’s total assets have reached an unprecedented 100 billion dollars.

Caroline Mauron, co-founder of Orbit Markets, a provider of liquidity for crypto derivatives, described $100,000 as a “huge psychological level” while adding that the pattern of bets in Bitcoin options had pointed to an increase in volatility.