Bitcoin exceeds $71,000 for the first time since June amid US elections
Kyiv • UNN
Bitcoin hit $71,415 for the first time since June amid an influx of funds into ETFs and speculation about the US election. Traders predict a rise to $80,000 by the end of November.
Bitcoin has risen above $71,000 for the first time since June, driven by an influx of funds into specialized exchange-traded funds and speculation about the possible outcome of next week's US elections, Bloomberg reports, according to UNN.
Details
The largest digital asset gained 2.7% before settling at $71,415 as of 7:57 a.m. on Tuesday in New York (13:57 Kyiv time). Smaller tokens such as Ether, which is in second place, and Dogecoin also rose.
As noted, some view the situation with bitcoin as the so-called Trump Trade, as Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump used digital assets during the election campaign. Trump is leading in the prediction markets, while polls show a neck-and-neck race with Democratic candidate Vice President Kamala Harris.
Tony Sycamore, a market analyst at IG Australia Pty, said in a note that bitcoin needs a sustained breakout above $70,000 to increase confidence that it can rise above its March record high of $73,798.
Trump promised to make the US the crypto capital of the planet. Harris took a more balanced approach, promising to support the industry's regulatory framework. Their positions contrast with the treatment of the sector under US President Joe Biden, the publication notes.
Trump also said he would ask billionaire Elon Musk, a major contributor to his campaign, to lead a movement to cut government spending. This effort is called the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, a reference to the Dogecoin token, which Musk has backed, the newspaper writes.
According to Arisa Toesaki, co-founder of Cega, a cryptocurrency derivatives trading service provider, Musk's association with the Trump campaign helped to boost sentiment among traders.
Options traders have increased their bets that bitcoin will peak at $80,000 by the end of November, regardless of who wins the election. The expected volatility around Election Day on November 5 is elevated, the publication points out. Spot bitcoin ETFs in the US have attracted about $3.6 billion in net inflows this month.
Recently, bitcoin has experienced softened bets on lower interest rates by the US Federal Reserve, as well as reports of closer US attention to Tether, the stablecoin that acts as a mainstay in cryptocurrency trading. The original cryptocurrency jumped 69% in 2024, the publication writes.
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