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Cryptocurrencies were in the green on Tuesday, with bitcoin briefly surpassing $70,000 as investors anxiously awaited the results of the US presidential election.
Bitcoin was last up nearly 3% at $69,469.37, according to Coin Metrics. Previously, it reached $70,522.84. It is currently 5% off its all-time high, after trading just a few steps away from it last week.
The token linked to Solana gained over 5%, while the payment token XRP increased by more than 1%. Memecoins surged, with dogecoin and the Shiba Inu coin up 7% and 4%, respectively. Ether was little changed at $2,429.24.
Stocks tied to the cryptocurrency price got a boost. Exchange Operator Coinbase And MicroStrategywhich often trades as a high beta play on the price of bitcoin, rose 4% and 2%, respectively.
Bitcoin wobbles over $70,000 on Election Day
The race for the next presidency between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump has been called the most important election in the history of the crypto industry. Many view Harris’ victory as a threat to crypto, the measure of which has been debated throughout this election cycle. Trump, on the other hand, is seen by many as a positive force in the industry after presenting himself earlier this year as the pro-crypto candidate and has courted the industry more directly than Harris.
Whoever ultimately wins, Bitcoin will likely survive and thrive, according to Bernstein analyst Gautam Chhugani.
“Bitcoin remains the most resilient crypto to election results,” he said. “The main drivers of Bitcoin remain US fiscal indiscipline, record debt levels and monetary expansion, which are increasing demand for hard assets such as gold and Bitcoin. We believe that Bitcoin, which represents less than 0.1% of global financial assets, has sufficient room for growth, regardless of the election outcome.
Chhugani has a price target of $200,000 for bitcoin in 2025, although he said bitcoin could fall to $50,000 in the coming weeks if Harris wins. He also expects a short-term rise of up to $90,000 this year if Trump wins.
The success of Bitcoin exchange-traded funds, which have seen over $23 billion in inflows this year and have $67 billion in assets under management, will continue to accelerate the cryptocurrency’s journey, Chhugani added .
But it is the broader cryptocurrency market that could be most exposed to risks from this election.
“A constructive, crypto-friendly SEC would open up opportunities for all crypto assets beyond bitcoin,” he said. “The key remains bipartisan support for crypto regulation (the outcome of the House and Senate also matters). And… if either party works to establish a crypto-friendly SEC The Trump side promised a crypto-friendly SEC, while the Harris side promised to defend crypto asset ownership, even though the crypto community would have preferred more specific crypto policy from Harris.
Increasingly, there is a growing consensus that while Trump might be the more supportive of the two candidates on crypto in general, a Harris presidency might not be as damaging as once feared. This fear stems from the hostility crypto is experiencing under the current administration. The US Securities and Exchange Commission led by Gary Gensler has become notorious for its refusal to provide clear guidelines to crypto companies wanting to play by the rules, choosing instead to regulate through enforcement measures. Additionally, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., has voiced her anticrypto cause.
