Representative image of bitcoin.
Credit: Reuters Photo
Bitcoin charged past the $90,000 level on Wednesday, as its relentless rally showed no signs of easing on expectations that Donald Trump as U.S. president and his administration will be a boon for cryptocurrencies.
The world's biggest cryptocurrency has become one of the most eye-catching movers in the week since the election and touched $91,110 - a record high. It was last up 3 per cent at $91,016, marking a 32 per cent rise since the Nov. 5 election.
Smaller peer ether has similarly soared 37 per cent since election day, while Dogecoin, an alternative token, promoted by billionaire Trump-ally Elon Musk was up more than 150 per cent as the bitcoin frenzy extended across the crypto landscape.
Trump embraced digital assets during his campaign, promising to make the United States the "crypto capital of the planet" and to accumulate a national stockpile of bitcoin.
It is not clear how or when that could happen but the possibility drove a speculative surge in crypto mining and trading stocks.
Software company and investor in bitcoin MicroStrategy announced it had spent about $2 billion buying bitcoin between Oct 31 and Nov 10. Shares scaled a record high on Tuesday.
Crypto investors see an end to increased scrutiny under US Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler, whom Trump has said he will replace. Trump also unveiled a new crypto business, World Liberty Financial, in September.
"Key areas to monitor include potential regulatory changes, increased institutional participation, and a rise in M&A activity," said Carl Szantyr, managing partner of digital asset hedge fund Blockstone Capital.
"The new political landscape may bring clearer regulations for crypto assets and could prompt strategic developments, such as a national bitcoin reserve and growth in the mining sector.