Bitcoin has topped $100,000. See what pushed the price up
Election To Trump Bitcoin Donald Has Picture: Unprecedented The Ap/mark Won Soared Since Lennihan Heights
Bitcoin has topped the $100,000 mark as a massive rally in the world’s most popular cryptocurrency sparked by the election of Donald Trump rolls on.
The milestone comes just hours after the president-elect signalled a lighter regulatory approach to the crypto industry when he said he intended to nominate cryptocurrency advocate Paul Atkins to be the next chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Bitcoin has soared to unprecedented heights since Trump won the election. The cryptocurrency has climbed dramatically from $69,374 on election say and rose as high as $103,713 Wednesday, according to CoinDesk. Just two years ago, bitcoin dropped below $17,000 following the collapse of crypto exchange FTX.
How long bitcoin will stay above the $100,000 mark is uncertain. It fell back to just under $102,000 early on Thursday. As with everything in the volatile cryptoverse, the future is impossible to predict. And while some are bullish on future gains, other experts continue to warn of investment risks.
Cryptocurrency has been around for a while now. But, chances are, you’ve heard about it more and more over the last few years.
In basic terms, cryptocurrency is digital money. This kind of currency is designed to work through an online network without a central authority — meaning it’s typically not backed by any government or banking institution — and transactions get recorded with technology called a blockchain.
Bitcoin is the largest and oldest cryptocurrency, although other assets like ethereum, tether, and dogecoin have also gained popularity over the years. Some investors see cryptocurrency as a “digital alternative” to traditional money, but the large majority of daily financial transactions are still conducted using fiat currencies such as the dollar.
Also, bitcoin can be very volatile, with its price reliant on larger market conditions.
A lot of the recent action has to do with the outcome of the US presidential election.
Trump, who was once a crypto sceptic, has pledged to make the US “the crypto capital of the planet” and create a “strategic reserve” of bitcoin. His campaign accepted donations in cryptocurrency and he courted fans at a bitcoin conference in July. He also launched World Liberty Financial, a new venture with family members to trade cryptocurrencies.
Crypto industry players have welcomed Trump’s victory, in hopes he would be able to push through legislative and regulatory changes they have long lobbied for — which, generally speaking, aim for an increased sense of legitimacy without too much red tape.
Trump made a move in that direction on Wednesday when he said he intended to nominate Paul Atkins to chair the Securities and Exchange Commission. Atkins was an SEC commissioner during the presidency of George W Bush. In the years since leaving the agency, Atkins has made the case against too much market regulation. He joined the Token Alliance, a cryptocurrency advocacy organisation, in 2017.
Under current chair Gary Gensler, the SEC has cracked down on the crypto industry, penalising a number of companies for violating securities laws. But he’s also faced criticism from industry players in the process, like the chief legal officer of Robinhood, who described Gensler’s approach toward crypto as “rigid” and “hostile”. Gensler will step down when Trump takes office.
History shows you can lose money in crypto as quickly as you’ve made it. Long-term price behaviour relies on larger market conditions. Trading continues at all hours, every day.
At the start of the covid-19 pandemic, bitcoin stood at just over $5,000. Its price climbed to nearly $69,000 by November 2021, during high demand for technology assets, but later crashed during an aggressive series of rate hikes by the Federal Reserve. And the late-2022 collapse of FTX significantly undermined confidence in crypto overall, with bitcoin falling below $17,000.
Investors began returning in large numbers as inflation started to cool — and gains skyrocketed on the anticipation and then early success of spot ETFs. But experts still stress caution, especially for small-pocketed investors. And lighter regulation from the coming Trump administration could mean fewer guardrails.
Assets like bitcoin are produced through a process called “mining”, which consumes a lot of energy. Operations relying on pollutive sources have drawn particular concern over the years.
Recent research published by the United Nations journal found the carbon footprint of 2020-2021 bitcoin mining across 76 nations was equivalent to the emissions from burning 84 billion pounds of coal or running 190 natural gas-fired power plants. Coal satisfied the bulk of bitcoin’s electricity demands (45%), followed by natural gas (21%) and hydropower (16%).
Environmental impacts of bitcoin mining boil largely down to the energy source used. Industry analysts have maintained clean energy has increased in use in recent years, coinciding with rising calls for climate protections.