President-elect Donald Trump has truly been the lucky charm that took Bitcoin to the moon. For the longest time, the phrase “to the moon” has almost been a meme seeing how the markets have always been unpredictable leading to crazy dips.
But not this time. Exactly one month after the U.S. presidential election, the BTC to USD exchange rate reached a new all-time high of $104,150, marking the first time Bitcoin surpassed the $100,000 milestone. Some crypto experts earlier predicted that the token would hit $100k by the end of the year, but it seemed more like a fantasy than a possible reality.
Now, most people in the crypto community are cashing in big on the token and it’s partly, maybe even majorly, thanks to Trump. On January 1st, 2024, 1 BTC was about $43,500. Eleven months later, the token reached six figures and its year-to-date surge is well over 100%. Trump’s impact on crypto has been building up slowly over the years, through the campaign period, and until election D-day, when it all started to materialize greatly.
A day after the election, the polls had Trump leading the race and the crypto market shot up. Bitcoin reached a remarkable $75,000, an indicator of good times ahead for the currency, and something proven true so far. President-elect Donald Trump showed he is a pro-crypto candidate and that is why the crypto market continues to respond positively to his win.
So, what’s the relationship between Trump and the rise of Bitcoin?
From Promises to Action
An interesting thing is that Trump wasn’t always a pro-crypto guy. In 2021, he considered Bitcoin a scam and said, “Bitcoin seems like a scam, I don’t trust it because it’s another currency competing against the US dollar.” Three years later, Trump has had a change of heart for Bitcoin, even owning a crypto venture himself, the World Liberty Financial.
During his campaign period, Trump highlighted inspiring promises for the crypto community. He mentioned that once he becomes president, he plans to have a “Strategic National Bitcoin Stockpile”, something similar to a gold reserve, but now with Bitcoins. He added that the already seized tokens by the Department of Justice, about 210,000 BTCs, would be the first deposit.
Coming from a tough crypto environment under Biden’s administration, Trump was a popular alternative for the crypto community. His promise for better crypto legislation and regulation portrays a bright future for cryptocurrencies.
The possibility of cryptos like Bitcoin being used across various industries like finance, banking, tech, retail, and gaming holds great potential. So, who knows? Maybe even casino gaming which is quite popular in the US might finally accept cryptocurrencies. Top online casinos will be keen on this and add crypto gaming to tap into this large community of people.
However, most people were skeptical of Trump and thought he was only after campaign funding, seeing that the sector pumped about $119 million in donations for pro-crypto candidates. But, even after claiming the top seat, the President-elect seems to be a man of his word and continues to make the right choices for the crypto niche. He even congratulated Bitcoin holders on reaching $100,000 on Truth Social.
Trump’s Allies and Policies Support Bitcoin
Another green flag leading to the increase in Bitcoin’s value is the allies the President-elect keeps. Starting with Elon Musk, a DOGE coin populist who’s now one of the leaders of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Musk has always been pro-crypto, even supporting meme coins like Dogecoin, so he continues to push tokens like Bitcoin to their full potential.
Other allies like Robert Kennedy Jr. and Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis, support Trump’s Bitcoin reserve idea and have even suggested previously that the US government could buy bitcoins to back the US dollar. RFK Jr. is a known crypto supporter who champions Bitcoin and other tokens as the “currency of freedom.”
In line with Trump’s vision to make America “the crypto capital of the world,” he promised reforms and changes in the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
Once Gary Gensler, the SEC Chair under Biden’s administration, resigned, Trump announced former SEC commissioner Paul Atkins as the new head of the agency. Paul will steer the President’s crypto vision forward and professionals like Dan Gallagher have described him as the right man for the job.
There’s still a long way to go for the crypto industry but having Donald Trump at the helm brings good tidings for the niche. With just one month as President-elect, he has managed to impact Bitcoin to an all-time high of over $100,000. If the President-elect abides by his promises and continues to make favorable crypto policies, we might have a bullish Bitcoin trend for quite some time. But with everything crypto, the markets remain unpredictable.
