forbes.com
Bitcoin prices rallied today, climbing past $100,000 for the first time this year as anticipation surrounding the inauguration of President-Elect Donald Trump bolstered the digital currency.
The world’s most valuable cryptocurrency by total market value reached more than $102,700 this evening, according to Coinbase data from TradingView.
At this point, it was up roughly 4% in less than 24 hours, after trading below $99,000 earlier in the day, additional Coinbase figures from TradingView reveal.
Interestingly enough, the digital asset, which reached an all-time high of more than $108,000 on December 24, spent the first several days of this year trading below the key, psychological level of $100,000.
Trump Rally
When asked what caused bitcoin’s latest rise above $100,000, several analysts pointed to the regime change that will take place two weeks from today, as well as its expected impact on policy.
“Personally, I think Bitcoin price pumped due to excitement of it being the first Monday of 2025 and every day is getting closer to a pro crypto president and the resignation of Gary Gensler,” said the TikTok influencer who goes by Wendy O.
Gensler, who became the chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in 2021, has generated significant visibility for the highly aggressive approach he has taken toward the cryptocurrency sector.
In November, he shared some statistics on his X (formerly Twitter) account, citing an SEC statement detailing how the government agency had secured more than $8 billion dollars’ worth of financial penalties during fiscal year 2024.
The government official, who has drawn significant ire for his heavy handed treatment of cryptocurrency industry participants, plans to resign from his current post on January 20, according to a separate SEC statement.
Greg Magadini, director of derivatives for digital asset data provider Amberdata, also highlighted how anticipation surrounding the upcoming regime change has impacted investors and the markets.
“The presidential certification process, followed by the Jan 20th inauguration both represent bullish sentiment catalysts, especially as the labor market remains strong and the new administration will likely announce tax-cut policies and friendly regulation policies for crypto,” he stated.
US Investor Demand Returns
The interest that American investors have in bitcoin seems to have recovered after the start of the year, according to CryptoQuant analyst Julio Moreno.
When asked what caused the cryptocurrency’s latest upward price movement, the analyst stated via Telegram that “it seems related to the return of the US investor to the market after the holidays.”
He emphasized changes in CryptoQuant’s Coinbase Premium Index for bitcoin, which the data analytics provider defines as the percent “difference between Coinbase Pro price (USD pair) and Binance price(USDT pair).”
The chart below, which Moreno supplied, illustrates the index’s latest activity.
“We can see the Coinbase Bitcoin price premium turning positive again for the first time since December 17 last year,” he stated.
“A positive Coinbase premium indicates relatively higher demand in the US,” Moreno noted.
Disclosure: I own some bitcoin, bitcoin cash, litecoin, ether, EOS and SOL.