LONDON: Bitcoin soared to a new record high on Sunday, as traders bet that Donald Trump’s return to the White House will be good for the cryptocurrency.

The digital currency passed $80,000 for the first time in its history shortly after 12pm.

It has been rising since the Republican candidate won Nov 5 presidential election over sentiment that he will ease regulations on digital curr­encies. Bitcoin reached $75,000 on Wednesday, topping its previous all-time peak of $73,797.98 achieved in March.

Trump was seen as the pro-crypto candidate in his battle with the Democratic Party’s candidate Kamala Harris.

During his first presidency Trump referred to cryptocurrencies as a scam, but has since radically changed his position, even launching his own platform for the unit.

He has pledged to make the US the “bitcoin and cryptocurrency capital of the world,” and to put tech billionaire Elon Musk in charge of a wide-ranging audit of governmental waste.

In September, Trump announced he would launch a digital currency platform named World Liberty Financial. But it had a faltering sales launch earlier this month, with only a fraction of its tokens that went on the market finding a buyer.

Cryptocurrencies have made headlines since their creation, from their extreme volatility to the collapse of several industry giants.

Published in Dawn, November 11th, 2024