Bitcoin surged to a record high on Sunday, as traders speculated that Donald Trump’s potential return to the White House could favour the cryptocurrency market.
The digital currency crossed the $80,000 mark for the first time in history shortly after midday (1200 GMT).
Its ascent began following Trump’s victory in last Tuesday’s US presidential election, with investors anticipating that the Republican candidate would ease regulations on digital currencies.
“The likelihood of Bitcoin and crypto emerging as a considerably larger asset class has increased significantly,” Charles Morris, an analyst at investment firm ByteTree, told the press.
Bitcoin hit $75,000 on Wednesday, surpassing its previous all-time high of $73,797.98 set in March.
“We shouldn’t expect this bullish trend to end soon – perhaps for around a year. My next target level is $100,000,” Stephane Ifrah, of French crypto asset management firm Coinhouse, told reporters.
Trump was considered the pro-crypto candidate against Democratic contender Kamala Harris.
While he once referred to cryptocurrencies as a “scam” during his first presidency, Trump has since changed his stance, even launching his own platform for digital assets.
He has promised to make the United States the “bitcoin and cryptocurrency capital of the world,” pledging to appoint tech billionaire and right-wing commentator Elon Musk to conduct a broad review of government inefficiencies.
In his previous term, Trump’s corporate tax cuts increased market liquidity, which encouraged investment in high-growth assets like cryptocurrency.
In September, Trump announced plans to launch a digital currency platform named World Liberty Financial, alongside his sons and business partners.
However, its initial token sales struggled earlier this month, with only a fraction of the tokens sold finding buyers.
Cryptocurrencies have frequently made headlines since their inception, from their extreme price volatility to the collapse of several prominent companies, including the FTX exchange.
Ahead of the election, Trump reportedly became the first former president to use Bitcoin for a purchase, buying burgers at a New York City restaurant, which celebrated the moment as a “historic transaction.”
Bitcoin trades continuously, including on Sundays.