By Zach Halaschak. Media: Washingtonexaminer
The price of bitcoin has now hit an all-time high record of $101,000, a symbolic milestone that comes amid a wave of optimism in the cryptocurrency space following President-elect Donald Trump’s victory.
Bitcoin, the flagship cryptocurrency, punched above six figures on Wednesday. The new record is a remarkable increase from where the price of bitcoin was before Trump, who has touted himself as a defender of crypto, bested Vice President Kamala Harris to win the presidency.
A day before the election, a single bitcoin was worth about $68,000. The cryptocurrency has provided a 47% return on investment in just a matter of days. Zooming out even further, bitcoin has vaulted up 124% in value since the start of the year, and 165% from this time last year.
If someone would have invested $5,000 in bitcoin just five years ago as the nascent crypto sector was starting to gain steam, their investment would have increased to $62,500.
Much of the recent increase can be tied to Trump’s win. Crypto advocates anticipate a much more friendly environment for bitcoin under Trump and for bitcoin to become even more institutionally accepted, a big departure from President Joe Biden, whose administration was seen as hostile to the industry.
Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler in particular was seen as hostile and the $100,000 record comes after he announced he would be resigning from the SEC ahead of Trump entering office.
Trump said Wednesday he will nominate crypto advocate Paul Atkins to chair the SEC.
“I would expect to see attempts to kind of roll back at least some of the enforcement actions against crypto, and an attempt to start getting a ball rolling on making new regulation,” Jennifer Schulp, director of financial regulation studies at the Cato Institute, recently told the Washington Examiner. “For the most part, the acting chair has a good amount of authority.”
There has also been some appetite and anticipation for pro-crypto legislation in Congress.
For instance, Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) is planning a renewed push for legislation to set up a strategic bitcoin reserve and told the Washington Examiner in an interview that she intends to reintroduce her BITCOIN Act in January with co-sponsors.
A strategic bitcoin reserve would be a U.S. reserve containing a large amount of the cryptocurrency. Specifically, Lummis’s plan would initiate a bitcoin purchase program with the goal of the United States acquiring a total stake of approximately 5% of total bitcoin supply — 1 million bitcoins, worth almost $100 billion in today’s prices.
Proponents say such a reserve could function as a hedge against inflation and prevent further devaluation of the dollar while maintaining global dominance in financial innovation. Critics, though, pan the idea as a solution in search of a problem and risky, given the volatility and uncertainty surrounding the relatively new asset class.
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