How will a Trump presidency affect crypto?
Before Donald Trump won the U.S. election on Nov. 5, it was widely believed among crypto investors that a Trump administration would be more crypto-friendly than a Kamala Harris administration. This view was bolstered by Elon Musk’s public support for Trump. The logic was simple: since Musk is a supporter of crypto—including meme coins such as dogecoin—this would somehow rub off on or influence how Trump views crypto.
The markets have confirmed that belief. On the night of the U.S. election—as it became clearer that Trump would win—the price of bitcoin jumped about 8%, from about $69,400 to over $75,000 (figures are in U.S. dollars). With this move, bitcoin recorded a new all-time high, surpassing its March 2024 high of about $73,000. In the days since the election, BTC’s price has continued to rise, and at press time was over $85,000.
Source: Google
Hold your horses, though; we have yet to see what a Trump presidency will really mean for crypto legislation in the U.S. And, while POTUS is important in deciding what happens with crypto, he doesn’t hold all the cards. Possibly even more important is the chairperson of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). That’s Gary Gensler, an MIT professor who is knowledgeable about bitcoin and blockchain—he’s even taught a course called “Blockchain and Money.” Despite this, though, Gensler has been widely considered to be hawkish on crypto during his tenure leading the SEC, since June 2021. The question for investors is: With Trump in office, will Gensler be allowed to complete his term until June 2026? And if he’s replaced, will the new chairperson be more crypto-friendly?
Given these uncertainties, another explanation for the BTC price jump is the inflationary expectations that accompany the Trump presidency. Trump brings with him the prospect of tariff wars with key U.S. trading partners such as China. When tariffs on imported goods rise, the total cost of those products rises for consumers as well. In other words, inflation rises. And, as explained in our previous column, higher inflation could lead to higher crypto prices.
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Bitcoin hits $100,000
On Oct. 29, 2024, BTC touched $100,000… Canadian dollars.
Canadians often track crypto prices in U.S. dollars, and rightly so, since that matters the most in the crypto market. However, a week ago, the price of BTC reached the important milestone of $100,000.
Does this really matter? Only a little bit.
