(Bloomberg) — Bitcoin neared historic levels of $100,000, fueled by optimism that newly elected President Donald Trump’s support for crypto will herald a boom as the U.S. moves to friendly regulation instead of a crackdown.
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The largest digital asset rose as much as 3.6% to a record $97,892 on Thursday, hovering around that peak as of 6:25 a.m. in London. The crypto market as a whole has gained approximately $900 billion since Trump’s election victory on November 5.
Trump’s transition team has begun discussions about whether to create a White House post dedicated to digital asset policy. The industry is pushing for the position – which would be the first of its kind in the US – to have a direct line to the newly elected president, who is now one of crypto’s biggest cheerleaders.
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The talks are the latest U.S. boost to market sentiment for digital assets, joining Bitcoin accumulator MicroStrategy Inc.’s plans. to accelerate the purchase of the token and the debut of options on the country’s Bitcoin exchange-traded funds.
Orientation level
Speculators are increasingly focused on when, rather than if, Bitcoin will make the jump to $100,000. Proponents of its claimed role as a modern store of value cherish the six-digit number as a symbolic rebuttal to skeptics who see little use for crypto and decry its links to money laundering and crime.
“Buyers are strangling sellers,” said Tony Sycamore, market analyst at IG Australia Pty. “While I’m not sure it will all be smooth sailing as the $100,000 mark approaches, demand seems insatiable.”
MicroStrategy, Bitcoin’s largest publicly traded company holder, on Wednesday announced a nearly 50% increase in its planned sale of convertible senior notes, up to $2.6 billion, to finance the purchase of the token. The once obscure software maker now bills itself as a Bitcoin treasury company and has an inventory of about $31 billion in digital assets.
ETF inflows
A group of a dozen U.S. ETFs investing in Bitcoin attracted net inflows of $5.8 billion in the post-Election Day period, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The group’s total assets have reached an unprecedented $100 billion.
“The massive psychological level of $100,000 is now in sight,” said Caroline Mauron, co-founder of Orbit Markets, a liquidity provider for crypto derivatives. The pattern of betting in Bitcoin options indicates that “the market expects a quick breakout,” she added.