Bitcoin, the best-known cryptocurrency, has rallied to close to $90,000 since Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, began leading the polls on November 5 and eventually won a day after.
The digital currency has risen by 27.89 percent since November 5 to close at an all-time high of $88,701.49 on Monday, November 11. According to CoinMarketCap, it is currently trading at $87,828.39 (as of 11:18 a.m. Nigerian Time). This surge has led to the growth of the global crypto market capitalisation to $2.96 trillion.
The market is reacting to expectations that Trump’s administration will be crypto-friendly. Although Trump was skeptical about crypto during his first term, he made a U-turn during the 2024 election campaign. For instance, at a major Bitcoin conference in Nashville, he promised to keep the crypto market largely unregulated and to make energy cheaper for the power-hungry mining of cryptocurrencies.
Read also: Bitcoin surges, dollar strengthens as CNN projects Trump winner of US election
He also promised to make the US the “crypto capital of the planet” and has proposed policies such as building a national Bitcoin reserve and appointing regulators to support the industry.
While much of BTC’s current rally can be attributed to Trump’s win, analysts have also linked it to other factors amplified by the US elections. Co-Pierre Georg, director of the Blockchain Center at the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management, told DW that the approval by the US Securities Exchange Commission in January of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in BTC has made investing in the coin and other cryptocurrencies much easier.
In Nigeria, crypto industry leaders expect the rally to continue and benefit the ecosystem, especially adoption. “It is just the beginning,” said Obinna Iwuno, president of the Stakeholders in the Blockchain Technology Association of Nigeria (SiBAN).
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