By Zainab Shafiq 
Bitcoin scaled to a record near $90,000 Tuesday as investors bet that Donald Trump will prove an easy winner of the U.S. presidency, which they believe will be fond of cryptocurrencies. At 11:20 a.m. in New York, the largest cryptocurrency hit an all-time high of $89,982, jumping 30% since Nov. 5. It then retreated to $86,730, off 1.4% from its peak.
It reflects the rally elsewhere in markets, and most specifically, Tesla, which shot up nearly 40% since election night. The rally is attributed to analysts’ perception that he was generally supportive of this sector. According to Alvin Tan, head of Asia FX strategy at RBC Capital Markets, “Crypto enthusiasts see a like-minded leader in Trump.”.
Such bitcoin mania comes at a time when Trump promised to place the United States on the map as the “crypto capital of the planet” and was going to establish a national bitcoin reserve. Though details are scarce, the very prospect has been enough to give the crypto market a cause for speculation, where stocks for mining and trading have shot through the roof.
According to Matthew Dibb, CIO at Astronaut Capital, part of Trump’s strategy could encourage countries to create bitcoin reserves. He further said U.S. bitcoin miners may be able to reap many benefits and even nationalization because of the Trump’s campaign.
Crypto mining firms are on a high boat. Riot Platforms soared 17% on Monday, MARA Holdings and CleanSpark jumped nearly by 30%. Bitcoin-investor MicroStrategy disclosed that it had bought $2 billion worth of bitcoin over the last few weeks, with the investment firm’s shares rising 26%.
According to Nick Twidale, chief market analyst at ATFX Global: “This surge is a clear Trump trade that boosts demand for both crypto assets and related stocks.” Smaller cryptocurrencies such as ether and dogecoin also rose but fell a percent on Tuesday.
Investors expect less regulatory scrutiny, as Trump said he would replace SEC Chair Gary Gensler. Also, Trump recently went on a crypto venture called World Liberty Financial, so there is more room for optimism here.
“This isn’t just a milestone for bitcoin; it’s also a sign of increasing market confidence in crypto as a politically supported asset,” Keyrock’s Justin D’Anethan says.
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