By Hannah Lang and Laura Matthews
(Reuters) – Bitcoin broke through the $90,000 level on Wednesday, to an all-time high in a rally showing no signs of easing on expectations that Donald Trump as U.S. president will be a boon for cryptocurrencies.
The world’s biggest cryptocurrency has become one of the most eye-catching movers in the week since the election and on Wednesday touched a record of $93,480 before paring gains.
It was last down slightly at $88,185, but has risen 32% since the Nov. 5 election.
Smaller peer ether has also risen 37% since Election Day, while dogecoin, an alternative, volatile token promoted by billionaire Trump-ally Elon Musk was up more than 150%.
“What you’ve seen since the election is the market hoping or realizing what that could mean for bitcoin in the medium to long term – a pro-bitcoin administration, Senate and potential legislation that not only gives U.S. citizens the right to self-custody bitcoin but potentially for bitcoin to be a strategic reserve asset for the U.S. Treasury,” said Damon Polistina, head of research at Eaglebrook.
Regulatory uncertainty has been a major cloud hanging over the sector and a headwind to advisors allocating for their clients to bitcoin, he said.
Trump embraced digital assets during his campaign, promising to make the United States the “crypto capital of the planet” and to accumulate a national stockpile of bitcoin.
It is unclear how or when that could happen but the possibility drove a speculative surge in crypto mining and trading stocks.
Zach Pandl, head of research at Grayscale Investments, said the “election results will open up the ability for large, regulated businesses like banks, custodians and exchanges to engage with public blockchain technology in the way that they haven’t in the past.”
Software company and bitcoin investor MicroStrategy announced it had spent about $2 billion buying bitcoin between Oct. 31 and Nov. 10. Shares scaled a record high on Tuesday.
Crypto investors see an end to increased scrutiny from the Securities and Exchange Commission under Trump. Trump and his sons announced a new crypto business, World Liberty Financial, in September.
“Many people believe that we will inevitably get to bitcoin at $100k,” said JJ Kinahan, CEO of IG North America and president of its tastytrade retail brokerage.
“I expect bitcoin to continue building momentum, at least until after the inauguration when we find out what the real plans to get there are.”
Others advised investors against getting caught up in the crypto frenzy.
“With bitcoin reaching $90K and hitting a new all-time high, investors should be cautious about the potential volatility ahead,” said Georgi Koreli, CEO of Hinkal, a blockchain-based private transaction protocol. “This doesn’t mean that we will not see $95K or even $100K soon, but rather that BTC might pause or slide back to regain its strength.”
(Reporting by Rae Wee and Hannah Lang and Laura Matthews in New York; Additional reporting by Federico Maccioni in Dubai; Editing by Alden Bentley, Marguerita Choy, Barbara Lewis and Richard Chang)
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