Bitcoin climbs, reaching a new all-time high above $96,000
- Bitcoin breached the $98,000 level for the first time Thursday as investors continued pricing in a second Donald Trump presidency.
- Bitcoin has been regularly hitting fresh records this month on hopes that Trump will usher in a golden age of crypto.
- Bitcoin has gained more than 130% in 2024.
Bitcoin breached the $98,000 level for the first time Thursday as investors continued pricing in a second Donald Trump presidency.
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The price of the flagship cryptocurrency was last higher by more than 3% at $97,930.00, according to Coin Metrics. Earlier, it rose as high as $98,367.00.
Crypto exchange Coinbase advanced 3% in premarket trading while MicroStrategy, which trades as a bitcoin proxy, jumped 11%. Mining stocks rose as well, with Mara Holdings up 9%.
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Bitcoin has been regularly hitting fresh records this month on hopes that Trump will usher in a golden age of crypto, which would include more supportive regulation for the industry and a potential national strategic bitcoin reserve or stockpile.
This most recent move was triggered by a spike in funding rates and open interest on the futures market during Asia trading. Around the same time, premiums in spot markets fell, according to data from CryptoQuant.
Bitcoin's recent moves higher also triggered a wave of short liquidations – more than $88 million in the past 24 hours, according to CoinGlass – sending the price further up overnight.
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"Looking back at previous moves of this magnitude, BTC has historically either gone into a consolidation period, or ignored the overbought condition as investors pile in," Rob Ginsberg, an analyst at Wolfe Research, said in a Wednesday note.
"Being that we are just breaking out of one of those long consolidation periods, and price is currently at a new high ... something tells us the chase is on," he added. "The real test will come when the major psychological level of $100,000 is likely hit in coming weeks" — and could hit as soon as Thursday.
Another Trump term also implies larger budget deficits, potentially more inflation and changes to the international role of the dollar – all things that would have a positive impact on the price of bitcoin.
Bitcoin has gained more than 130% in 2024.
— CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed reporting.
