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Bitcoin resumed its ascent on Tuesday, after taking a break from its post-election rally earlier in the session.
The price of bitcoin was last up 2% at $89,338.20, according to Coin Metrics. It briefly touched $90,036.17 just before the stock market closed, after quickly surpassing $80,000 the previous two days. Many investors expect its price to continue setting new record highs to reach $100,000 later this year.
Bitcoin is now up more than 33% since Election Day on November 5, when it hit a new record high for the first time since March. Ether was down 1% on Tuesday after a 28% gain over the past week.
“Bitcoin is now in price discovery mode after hitting all-time highs early Wednesday morning when it was officially declared that Trump had won the election,” said Mike Colonnese, an analyst at HC Wainwright. “Strong positive sentiment is expected to persist through the end of 2024 and (we) predict that Bitcoin prices could reach the six-figure mark by the end of this year.”
The crypto market took a breather following Bitcoin’s rally towards $90,000 last week.
Crypto investors have applauded President-elect Donald Trump’s promises to make the regulatory environment more supportive and even friendlier toward crypto businesses, which have long struggled with a lack of clarity of the rules of the road.
While bitcoin has long been considered a safe asset in Washington – that is, not subject to securities laws – the long tail of cryptocurrencies and crypto-related startups is operating in a gray area more risky.
“It’s just changed 180 degrees,” Matt Hougan, chief investment officer of Bitwise Asset Management, told CNBC. “We’re now in a positive regulatory environment, we’re now enjoying tailwinds, and this is happening in a market that was already in a bull market…this is going to push us higher.”
In the crypto market, coins that have soared over the past week hit the brakes on Tuesday, including memecoin Shiba Inu, which fell 4% after soaring 57% last week.
Dogecoin was, however, an exception. It’s one of the biggest gainers, up more than 125% since Nov. 5, likely due to its ties to Elon Musk, who helped elect Trump. It was last up 17%.
On the stock market MicroStrategy pared earlier losses and ended the day up almost 5%. Coinbase fell by 1.5%. On Monday, it jumped 19% to trade above $300 for the first time since 2021 and is up about 6% from its peak that year.
Traders and analysts agree that last week’s rally is only just beginning.
“There appears to be a gap between (Bitcoin’s) previous all-time highs, around $72,000 and $100,000,” Hougan said. “It’s hard to see exactly what would force sellers to enter this market and halt the momentum before reaching this level. Of course, there are no guarantees. You might see some pullbacks, but we are in a new crypto market cycle…I think we are right to be optimistic and the bias is still upward.
