Bitcoin raced to a new all-time high today as investors piled into cryptocurrencies ahead of the inauguration of Donald Trump in Washington DC.
It follows the launch of the 47th President’s own crypto currency as well as a meme coin from his wife Melania which debuted over the weekend.
In early trading in Asia today bitcoin was up by around 4% to hit a a new record high of $109,071 before falling back slightly.
The President elect, who succeeds Joe Biden today, has promised to make the US the “crypto capital of the planet.”
$TRUMP and $MELANIA were both launched over the weekend, with Trump’s coin reaching a market cap of more than $5 billion.
The token, $Trump, more than tripled in price to more than $70 (£57), giving it a total value of over $14 billion after its launch on Friday before slumping more than 50% on the start of trading of his wife’s coin, $Melania. This morning $Trump was trading at $58.18.
Trump posted on social media: “It’s time to celebrate everything we stand for: WINNING! Join my very special Trump Community. GET YOUR $TRUMP NOW.”. It quickly broke into the top 15 of all cryptocurrencies.
The crypto curerency surge came as markets and investors assessed the impact of the second Trump presidency. In London the FTSE 100 opened marginally up, reaching new all-time highs following last week’s dramatic surge.
Jochen Stanzl, chief market analyst at CMC Markets, said: “What will happen in concrete terms when political wishes become reality is something we can observe in the US from today onwards. There, the environment for equities has become more difficult shortly before the new president takes office. While the Trump trade began with a broad-based rally in equities and a rise in cryptos, after a correction in the S&P 500 only Bitcoin and Tesla remain as real beneficiaries.
“Estimates of how Trump’s policies will play out and which of the measures announced in advance he will implement first vary widely. This is due to Trump’s character: he consciously relies on unpredictability and the element of surprise to tip the balance in his favour during negotiations. The stock markets will no doubt experience the odd ‘wow’ moment in connection with the new US president, and not just in the next 24 to 48 hours. This is likely to remain the case for the next four years of Trump’s presidency.”
