Bitcoin yesterday climbed to a fresh record as the US prepared to inaugurate US President Donald Trump to his second presidential term, following a weekend during which his own digital token rattled crypto markets.
The original digital asset gained as much as 5.5 percent to US$109,241 yesterday. The rally came after Trump and his wife, Melania, unveiled memecoins, with Trump’s reaching a market capitalization of more than US$15 billion on Sunday before declining sharply.
Bitcoin and other major tokens such as ether and xrp rose rapidly yesterday morning in London, with traders counting down the hours until Trump once again assumed control of the White House.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Bloomberg News previously reported that he is considering an executive order designating the asset class a “national priority.”
The new Trump tokens initially blindsided crypto markets by diverting investment flows from other tokens, and drew sharp criticism even from some industry executives. Yet investors eventually embraced the notion that Trump’s move would give him further incentive to embrace crypto-friendly policies.
The tokens debuted by Trump and his team have further accelerated bitcoin’s momentum as retail traders look for his administration to “prioritize and reaffirm his commitment to the crypto industry,” cryptocurrency exchange HashKey Global managing director Ben El-Baz said.
Memecoins are a kind of cryptocurrency with questionable intrinsic value and high volatility that rely on social media tailwinds to drive up their price.
An 80 percent share of the Trump token is owned by a Trump Organization affiliate called CIC Digital LLC, and a related entity called Fight Fight Fight LLC — whose name echoes the words Trump mouthed after a bullet grazed his ear during the campaign trail.
Their holdings are to be unlocked over a three-year period.
Major exchanges such as Coinbase Global Inc and Binance Holdings Ltd at the weekend said that they intend to list the token on their platforms. Robinhood Markets Inc yesterday announced on social media that it too had listed the token.
Jonathan Yark, senior quantitative trader at crypto market maker Acheron Trading, said the memecoin “confirmed that digital assets and, most importantly, bitcoin will have the backing of the US which presents significant opportunity.”
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