(Bloomberg) — Bitcoin jumped to a record high, part of a wave of trades across global markets in response to Republican nominee Donald Trump’s lead over Democratic rival Kamala Harris in the US presidential election.
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The largest digital asset rose as much as 9% and changed hands at $74,960 as of 6:36 a.m. Wednesday in London. The last peak was set in March, when investors were cheered by inflows into dedicated US exchange-traded funds.
In battleground states, Trump held North Carolina, won in Georgia and had a more tentative advantage in others. Counting was ongoing, and a path remained open for Harris to close the gap in a presidential contest for the ages.
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’s Vow
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. The Republicans went on to win control of the Senate.
The prospect of friendlier US crypto rules led to gains across the digital-asset market. Second-ranked token Ether added about 7%. Dogecoin, a meme-crowd favorite promoted by Trump supporter Elon Musk, rallied 30% 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.
