Bitcoin keeps breaking records. Less than two weeks after the original cryptocurrency crossed the $80,000 mark for the first time, it has rocketed to just below $100,000 with many anticipating it could cross that mark this week.
The unprecedented run, which has extended to the broader crypto markets, comes in the wake of Donald Trump’s election victory, and widespread expectations that he and a Republican Congress will usher in an era of favorable regulation for digital assets. Since election night, the industry’s market cap has grown over $1 trillion.
Adam McCarthy, research analyst at crypto data firm Kaiko, told Fortune that if investor interest continues the way it has, he expects Bitcoin to cross the $100,000 mark before the end of the year.
“If that appetite continues, if the inflows that we’ve seen into ETFs this year continue, then that should structurally set things up for an interesting end of the year,” McCarthy said.
He says that Bitcoin becoming a six-figure asset will signal to traders a recognition that it is a legitimate store of value that is not going away.
“It’s just a huge milestone,” McCarthy said. “It’s validation as much as it is just exciting as well.”
On Thursday, Bitcoin hit a new all-time high of $98,831, which coincided with Securities and Exchange Commission chair Gary Gensler announcing he will step down from his post when Trump takes office on January 20.
Gensler, who has been a key enforcer of the Biden administration’s aggressive anti-crypto stance, wrote on X, “I thank @POTUS for entrusting me w/ this incredible responsibility. The SEC has met our mission & enforced the law w/o fear or favor.”
Gensler’s departure was met with widespread glee on social media by figures from the crypto industry, which has been targeted with a wave of enforcement actions by the SEC. Those legal actions, which included suits against industry giants Coinbase and Ripple, helped galvanize a well-funded political campaign to elect crypto-friendly lawmakers.
Bitcoin’s sprint toward $100,000 also coincides with news that the Trump team is considering the creation of a White House role dedicated specifically to cryptocurrency policy. While it is unclear what the exact capacity of the role will be, industry leaders are pushing for it to serve as a direct line to the President, according to a Bloomberg News report. The position would give the industry unprecedented influence over the rules that govern it.
