Bitcoin soars to record high

The cryptocurrency has been rallying since Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election.

The price of Bitcoin has continued to surge, smashing the $94,000 threshold for the first time on Wednesday. The latest push has been fueled by reports that US President-elect Donald Trump’s social media company is in talks to acquire crypto platform Bakkt, analysts say.

The flagship cryptocurrency was trading at around $94,472 per coin, up by more than 3% as of 14:30 GMT. The price has more than doubled since the start of this year.

Crypto-related stocks Coinbase Global, MicroStrategy and Robinhood Markets were all higher in pre-market trading.

At $1.8 trillion, Bitcoin is now the seventh-largest financial asset by market capitalization, surpassing energy giant Saudi Aramco and moving closer to tech giants Amazon and Google. Overall, the total market cap of all cryptocurrencies eclipsed $3 trillion this week, up by about 85% since January.

The latest crypto advance comes after the Financial Times reported on Monday that Donald Trump’s social media company was holding talks to buy crypto trading firm Bakkt.

Sources familiar with the negotiations told the outlet that Trump Media and Technology Group, which operates Truth Social, is close to an all-stock acquisition of Bakkt.

The deal would be another sign of the president-elect’s favorable stance on the crypto sector.

“Trump’s seeming interest to push further into crypto on a personal level has contributed to optimism that crypto will be a top priority when Trump takes office,” said Stephane Ouellette, chief executive officer of crypto trading firm FRNT Financial, as quoted by Reuters.

During the campaign, Trump made a range of promises to the crypto industry, including that he would make the US the “crypto capital of the planet” and insisting that all Bitcoin should be mined in the country. He even used Bitcoin to buy cheeseburgers and beer for his supporters at a New York City bar.

Trump has also pledged to unseat US Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler, who has taken an aggressive approach to the crypto industry.

This week, the Wall Street Journal reported that Trump was meeting privately with the CEO of crypto exchange Coinbase, Brian Armstrong.

Some analysts say that with investor expectations of eased regulations in the crypto sector, the $100,000 threshold for Bitcoin is now in sight.

“Bitcoin’s new all-time high reflects a milestone in its price and a fundamental shift in its political and economic acceptance,” XS.com analyst Antonio Di Giacomo said on Wednesday in a note, seen by Barron’s.

“With factors like US government support, increased institutional interest, and the potential use of Bitcoin by sovereign nations, the path to $100,000 seems increasingly plausible,” he claimed.

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