Bitcoin soars above $109,000 to hit fresh record-high over pumped-up crypto bets ahead of Donald Trump's inauguration
- Bitcoin price today: Since Trump's electoral victory, Bitcoin has surged in price, topping $100,000 for the first time last month before briefly sliding down to about $90,000
Bitcoin price today: The bitcoin price soared above $109,000 to hit a fresh, all-time high of $109,241, boosted by pumped-up cryptocurrency industry bets, just a few hours ahead of Donald Trump's inauguration as the 47th US President. Over the weekend, Trump launched his own cryptocurrency, a so-called meme coin, called the $TRUMP coin, sparking bullish buying that sent its market capitalisation (mcap) soaring to several billion dollars.
Since Trump's victory, Bitcoin has surged in price, topping $100,000 for the first time last month before briefly sliding down to about $90,000. On Friday, it rose about five per cent. According to CoinDesk, it jumped over $9,000 early Monday. Bitcoin is the world's most popular cryptocurrency, created in 2009 as a kind of electronic cash uncontrolled by banks or governments.
Bitcoin hits record-high over bullish crypto bets with Trump's inauguration
Trump has now completely embraced digital currencies after being a sceptic a few years ago, calling Bitcoin a ‘scam’. Trump had launched a new cryptocurrency venture and vowed on the campaign trail to take steps early in his presidency to make the US the “crypto capital” of the world.
Trump also promised that, as president, he would ensure that the US government stockpiles bitcoin, much like it already does with gold. The new Trump tokens initially blindsided crypto markets by diverting investment flows from other tokens. Yet investors eventually embraced the notion that Trump’s move would incentivise them to embrace crypto-friendly policies.
Trump's wife, Melania, launched her own coin, the $MELANIA meme coin, on Sunday. The coin rallied in price to take its market cap well beyond $1 billion. Memecoins are a kind of cryptocurrency with questionable intrinsic value and high volatility that rely on social media tailwinds to drive their price. Several key figures in Trump's administration and his circles have ties to the crypto industry.
An 80 per cent share of the Trump token is owned by a Trump Organization affiliate called CIC Digital LLC, and a related entity called Fight Fight Fight LLC — whose name echoes the words Trump spoke after a bullet grazed his ear during the campaign trail. Their holdings will be unlocked over a three-year period.
According to the site, 200 million tokens immediately became available, a supply that will grow to one billion over three years. According to CoinMarketCap data, the meme coin was last trading at $39.44 in New York. The small print on its website states that the token isn’t intended to be an “investment opportunity, investment contract, or security of any type.”
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