Bitcoin has set record after record in the huge post-election period, and its price is now approaching $100,000 – an achievement that will go down as one of the biggest milestones in cryptocurrency history.
Bitcoin traded near $91,000 on Thursday after briefly topping $93,000 for the first time ever on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the momentum from President-elect Donald Trump’s victory hasn’t slowed: Trump announced this week that Tesla CEO and cryptocurrency enthusiast Elon Musk will serve as co-head of the Office of Government Effectiveness, or “DOGE,” a reference to Musk’s pet memecoin. of the same name.
Crypto insiders are now excited about the possibility of a six-figure price for Bitcoin, which many believe is inevitable. But despite the volatility of an asset like Bitcoin, there is still an understanding that nothing is guaranteed.
“A rise to $100,000 by early to mid-December is plausible, potentially followed by a typical market correction as investors rebalance and take profits,” Martin Leinweber, digital assets researcher at MarketVector Indexes, told Money.
Why is the price of Bitcoin rising?
The crypto industry and President Joe Biden’s administration have battled over regulation and clashed in the courts. Vice President Kamala Harris, who was running against Trump, did not prioritize cryptocurrency issues in her campaign, leading some to fear a further crackdown on the cryptocurrency industry if she wins.
Trump, on the other hand, courted the cryptocurrency world during his election campaign and received large donations from industry executives. Trump and his sons are also involved in their own crypto project: a token called World Liberty Financial.
With his victory, investors have new optimism, knowing that the next presidential administration will likely take a cryptocurrency-focused approach. Changes in leadership at the Securities and Exchange Commission and other government agencies could mean less regulation and oversight of cryptocurrency, for example.
“Investors are seeing the hurdles that cryptocurrency has struggled with for years suddenly disappear. In many cases, headwinds (such as hostile SEC activity and an anti-cryptocurrency administration) are giving way to tailwinds designed to propel the industry forward over the next four years. “,” Ryan Rasmussen, head of research at Bitwise, wrote in an email.
Rasmussen says it’s not too late to get in on the cryptocurrency rally. It goes beyond the $100,000 price target and predicts Bitcoin will head toward $200,000 in 2025. However, buying Bitcoin at a high price has backfired for many investors in the past, and large price swings in the other direction are possible given the extreme volatility of the asset.
When will Bitcoin reach $100K?
A year ago, Bitcoin was trading around $37,000. Since then, prices have risen more than 150%, reaching $40,000 on December 3, 2023, $60,000 on February 28, and $80,000 on Sunday. Earlier this week, the total cryptocurrency market capitalization exceeded US$3 trillion for the first time since 2021.
Given this pace, Markus Thielen, CEO of cryptocurrency research firm 10x Research, predicted that Bitcoin would reach $100,000 by Christmas.
“With Trump scheduled to be inaugurated on January 20, 2025, the market will likely expect him to deliver on his crypto promises,” including a move to a less invasive regulatory framework, he wrote briefly. Fewer regulations, of course, mean more freedom for crypto investors, many of whom were initially drawn to the asset. because it’s decentralized.
Before the price surged more than 30% in the days following the election, Bitcoin was already in good shape this year. The Bitcoin halving event, which caused prices to rise and Bitcoin mining rewards to decrease, and the introduction of Bitcoin ETFs, which made crypto investing accessible to a wider audience, are often cited as factors that led to the price surge in 2024.
Remember: Bitcoin is volatile and its price can always fall back. For example, after Bitcoin hit $68,790 in November 2021, the price fell about 78% to under $17,000—and took years to climb back up.
However, the traditional stock market also hit all-time highs this week. The S&P 500 index is around 6,000 and up more than 32% from last year. Expectations of tax cuts and a friendlier business environment under longtime tycoon Trump are driving stocks higher. In general, investor sentiment is optimistic.
“For years, working and investing in cryptocurrency has felt like an uphill battle. But at least this hill is leveling out,” Rasmussen said. “And at best, we’ll probably coast for a while.”
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