Bitcoin approached the historic $100,000 level, fueled by optimism that President-elect Donald Trump’s support for crypto heralds a boom as the US pivots to friendly regulations in place of a crackdown.
The largest digital asset rose as much as 6% to a record $98,396 on Thursday. The crypto market as a whole has gained approximately $900 billion since Trump’s Nov. 5 election win.
Trump’s transition team has begun to hold discussions over whether to create a White House post dedicated to digital-asset policy. The industry is pitching for the position — which would be the first of its kind in the US — to have a direct line to the president-elect, who is now one of crypto’s biggest cheerleaders.
Crypto stocks jumped in premarket trading Thursday. MicroStrategy rose 11%; Marathon Digital rose 10%; CleanSpark, Canaan, Bitfarms, and Hut 8 Mining rose 5%; Riot Platforms, Bit Digital, and Bakkt Holdings rose 4%; Coinbase rose 3%.