The prices of cryptocurrencies, especially Bitcoin, have continued to rise amidst the hope of a favourable policy by the incoming President Donald Trump U.S. Presidency.
Bitcoin, the world’s largest and most popular cryptocurrency, on Monday, exceeded $106,000 per coin, amidst hints that President Trump intends to create a strategic crypto reserve similar to the USA oil reserve.
A report by Reuters said Bitcoin hit a high of $106,533 on Monday, rising from the last trading of $104,493 at about 10 am WAT. The rise translates to a 3.1% gain for Bitcoin, while smaller crypto ether rose 1.2% to $3.952.
“We’re in blue sky territory here,” said Tony Sycamore, an analyst at IG. “The next figure the market will be looking for is $110,000. The pullback that a lot of people were waiting for just didn’t happen, because now we’ve got this news.”
“Investor sentiment also got a lift from the inclusion of MicroStrategy (MSTR.O), into the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 index that will likely lead to more inflows for the software firm turned bitcoin buyer.
Bitcoin and crypto have been catapulted into the spotlight as investors wager the incoming Trump administration will usher in a friendlier regulatory environment, boosting sentiment around the alternate currency. Bitcoin is up 192% for the year,” the report by Reuters added.
“We’re gonna do something great with crypto because we don’t want China or anybody else – not just China but others are embracing it – and we want to be the head,” Trump told CNBC,
When asked if he plans to build a crypto reserve similar to oil reserves, Trump said: “Yeah, I think so.”
Governments around the world held 2.2% of bitcoin’s total supply as of July, according to data provider CoinGecko, with the United States possessing nearly 200,000 bitcoins valued at more than $20 billion at current levels.
There are indications that most countries, including China, the UK, Bhutan and El Salvador among other countries now hold significant amounts of bitcoins.
The Reuters report revealed that Russia is among other countries considering cryptocurrency strategic reserves, with President Vladimir Putin earlier this month saying the current U.S. administration was undermining the role of the U.S. dollar as the reserve currency in the global economy.
Putin said the U.S. is using the greenback for political purposes, forcing many countries to turn to alternative assets, including cryptocurrencies.
