By South China Morning Post | Created at 2024-11-21 02:24:46 | Updated at 2024-11-21 12:32:46
10 hours ago
Bitcoin hit US$95,000 for the first time as the digital-asset sector moves to cement its influence with Donald Trump by pushing for a new White House post dedicated to cryptocurrency policy.
Trump’s team is holding discussions about whether to create such a role for the first time and the industry is pitching for the position to have direct access to the president-elect, who is now one of crypto’s biggest cheerleaders.
The talks are the latest US boost for digital-asset market sentiment, alongside bitcoin accumulator MicroStrategy’s plans to accelerate purchases of the token and the debut of options on the nation’s bitcoin exchange-traded funds.
The largest digital asset rose more than 2 per cent in the US on Wednesday and extended the gain early in Asia on Thursday to a record high of US$95,004. The crypto market as a whole consolidated gains after a more than US$800 billion jump since Trump’s election victory on November 5, based on data from CoinGecko.
Speculators are increasingly focused on whether bitcoin will make a further leap to US$100,000. Advocates of its claimed role as a modern-day store of value cherish the six-figure level as a rebuttal of sceptics who see little utility in crypto and decry its links to money laundering and criminal activity.
