Pakinomist– Bitcoin bounced back from early losses on Monday to hit record highs as traders piled into the world’s biggest cryptocurrency in anticipation of friendlier crypto regulations under President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office later in the day.
jumped over 3% in minutes to hit a record high of $109,118.
The crypto rose in volatile trade, with crypto market volatility rising over the weekend after Trump launched his own memecoin, $TRUMP, to high demand. The token became one of the most valuable cryptocurrencies in less than a day, but logged wild swings in the process.
Trump policies in focus as inauguration looms
Trump is set to take office from 12:00 ET (17:00 GMT) on Monday.
The president-elect has promised to hand out crypto-friendly regulations during his second term and has vowed to make America the “crypto capital” of the world.
While Trump nominated several pro-crypto candidates for key regulatory positions, markets were uncertain about what policies he will outline, as some of his more ambitious promises, such as a Bitcoin Strategic Reserve, could require congressional approval.
Uncertainty about the impact of Trump’s policies on the broader economy, especially given his tough stance on immigration and trade, kept risk appetite muted.
Trump, Melania memecoin volatility curbs crypto appetite
Crypto markets initially cheered the launch of Trump’s memecoin, $TRUMP, which accelerated sharply since its launch on Friday. The token was seen growing over 7000% within hours of its launch and achieved a market cap of over $14 billion.
But the token was then exposed to large profit takings and fell sharply from the weekend highs.
Trump was also disappointed to launch a new memecoin themed around future first lady Melania Trump, $MELANIA, with crypto traders raising some concerns about the ethical implications of Trump leveraging his political status to turn speculative markets in his favor.
The launch of $TRUMP, of which the president-elect holds a significant number of tokens, significantly increased his personal wealth, at least on paper.
Crypto price today: altcoins less bullish than Bitcoin
Broader crypto prices were a mixed bag as traders remained somewhat skeptical of altcoins amid an ongoing speculative frenzy in memecoins.
World no. 2 crypto rose 3.5% to $3,390.65 while flat at $3.2024.
and stabilized after recouping most of their earlier losses, while among meme tokens they lost 4.7%.
