Bitcoin soared to an all-time high of $106,533 in early Asian trading on Monday, buoyed by remarks from U.S. President-elect Donald Trump hinting at plans to establish a national bitcoin strategic reserve akin to the country’s strategic oil reserves. The cryptocurrency later settled at $105,688. Meanwhile, ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency, rose nearly 3% to $4,014.
“We’re in blue sky territory here,” said Tony Sycamore, an analyst at IG. “The next target for the market is $110,000. The anticipated pullback didn’t materialize, largely due to this significant news.”
In a CNBC interview last week, Trump expressed his administration’s ambition to strengthen the U.S.’s position in the crypto market. “We’re gonna do something great with crypto because we don’t want China or anybody else – not just China, but others – taking the lead. We want to be at the forefront,” Trump stated. When asked about the possibility of a cryptocurrency reserve, he responded, “Yeah, I think so.”
Other nations are also exploring the concept of strategic crypto reserves. Russian President Vladimir Putin recently criticized reliance on foreign currency reserves, suggesting a preference for domestic investments and alternative assets, including cryptocurrencies.
“For example, bitcoin—who can prohibit it? No one,” Putin remarked, while also accusing the current U.S. administration of undermining the dollar’s role as the global reserve currency by politicizing its use.
Bitcoin has surged over 50% since the November 5 election, which saw Trump and several pro-crypto candidates emerge victorious. The total cryptocurrency market value has nearly doubled in 2024, reaching a record $3.8 trillion, according to data from CoinGecko.
In further developments, Trump named former PayPal executive David Sacks, a close associate of adviser Elon Musk, as the White House czar for artificial intelligence and cryptocurrencies. Trump also announced plans to nominate Paul Atkins, a pro-crypto attorney, to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Institutional interest in bitcoin continues to grow. Nasdaq recently announced that MicroStrategy, a major bitcoin investor, will join the Nasdaq-100 Index. MicroStrategy, the largest corporate holder of bitcoin, has seen its stock value soar more than six-fold this year, pushing its market capitalization to nearly $94 billion.
With bitcoin’s meteoric rise and increasing political and institutional support, the cryptocurrency’s role in the global economy is set to expand significantly.
