Bitcoin soars to record high after Trump election victory
11 November 2024, 09:09
The value of cryptocurrency Bitcoin has risen above $80,000 for the first time in the wake of Donald Trump’s election victory.
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Bitcoin, which is perhaps the most famous cryptocurrency, has soared over the last week as Donald Trump stormed to victory against Kamala Harris.
Rising by more than 80 per cent to a whopping $80,000, Trump’s election victory has seen confidence in the online currency boom.
In stark contrast to his predecessor Joe Biden, Trump has positioned himself as a firm supporter of Bitcoin and the wider cryptocurrency industry.
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During his campaign, the president-elect pledged to make America "the crypto capital of the planet".
Billionaire tech tycoon Elon Musk, one of Donald Trump’s most vocal supporters, famously invested $1.5bn in Bitcoin in 2021.
The price of digital currency has fluctuated greatly over the last decade but has mostly enjoyed consistent growth.
Wall Street also soared in the wake of Donald Trump’s victory, with banks specifically doing well.
On Wednesday morning the US dollar was up 1.65% against several different currencies, including the pound, euro and the Japanese yen.
The S&P 500 rallied 2.5% for its best day in nearly two years. The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 1,508 points, or 3.6%, while the Nasdaq composite jumped 3%. All three indexes topped records they had set in recent weeks.
The US stock market has historically tended to rise regardless of which party wins the White House, with Democrats scoring bigger average gains since 1945, but Republican control could mean big shifts in the winning and losing industries underneath the surface, and investors are adding to bets built earlier on what the higher tariffs, lower tax rates and lighter regulation that Trump favours will mean.
"The markets are scrambling to figure out what happens next, but for the time being, the market is pricing in a higher growth and higher inflation outlook," Peter Esho of Esho Capital said.
Companies in the crypto industry also jumped, including trading platform Coinbase's 31.1% leap.
