Bitcoin has soared past the $100,000 mark, driven by renewed investor confidence following U.S. president-elect Donald Trump’s pro-cryptocurrency stance.
The leading cryptocurrency surged to $103,800 on Thursday, marking a 50% rise since Trump’s election victory in November.
The rally gained momentum after Trump nominated Paul Atkins, a well-known cryptocurrency advocate, to head the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
This move signals a shift toward more favorable crypto regulations under the incoming administration.
Trump’s declaration to make the U.S. the global leader in Bitcoin, along with Atkins’ appointment, has sent shockwaves through the market.
“Bitcoin reaching $100k is an incredible milestone for our movement,” said Kris Marszalek, CEO of Crypto.com. “We never doubted. We never wavered. And we will never stop building.”
Further bolstering confidence, Trump has chosen Howard Lutnick for the Commerce Department and Elon Musk as co-leader of a newly created “Department of Government Efficiency,” nicknamed “DOGE” after the Dogecoin cryptocurrency.
Dogecoin itself has experienced a 150% surge since the election.
According to Financial Times on Thursday, the rise to $100,000 marks a remarkable turnaround from Bitcoin’s $16,000 lows two years ago, when the collapse of FTX and heavy regulatory scrutiny rattled the industry.
Institutional investors are now pouring billions into the market, with BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF managing $45 billion in assets.
Cameron Winklevoss, co-founder of Gemini, summed up the sentiment: “This bitcoin bull run is different. We have a pro-tech president-elect, a red Senate, a red House, and a mandate from the country to build.”
CNBC highlighted Trump’s promise to retain “every Bitcoin held or acquired by the U.S. government” and to remove SEC Chair Gary Gensler, whose tenure was marked by extensive regulatory actions targeting cryptocurrency firms.
With $4.4 billion invested in crypto ETFs since November and major companies like MicroStrategy planning to invest $42 billion more into Bitcoin, analysts predict this could be the beginning of a new golden age for digital assets.
