Bitcoin nears $82,000 amid Trump’s return momentum and economic optimism – London Business News | Londonlovesbusiness.com

Bitcoin continues its record gains today, hitting a new high of $81,943, as part of its seventh consecutive day of gains.

Bitcoin’s gains come amid continued bullish momentum fueled by Donald Trump’s re-election, in light of his promises of a more lenient regulatory environment for cryptocurrencies and support for their adoption.

The favorable economic outlook also created by the Federal Reserve’s recent interest rate cut and his talk of a strong economy is boosting the risk appetite that Bitcoin needs to keep its upward trend intact.

Trump promised during his election campaign to remove the most significant obstacles to wider adoption of cryptocurrencies, namely regulatory and legislative hurdles.

On the regulatory side, Trump has vowed to fire Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler on his first day back in January. Gensler is a prominent anti-crypto figure who has led a campaign of lawsuits and actions that have even affected major companies operating in the sector.

Legislatively, Trump’s victory, coupled with Republican dominance over the Congress, could pave the way for legislation to remove restrictions on cryptocurrencies that prevent them from gaining wider adoption and access to banking services, according to The Wall Street Journal. For example, Republicans were able to defeat the most prominent crypto critic, Representative and Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee Sherrod Brown, while his successor, Representative Tim Scott, is expected to draft a legal framework that would reduce the requirements for companies to engage in trading and custody of cryptocurrencies, according to The Journal.

But Trump may not be able to implement his promises as easily as he previously talked about. For example, Trump’s promise to fire Gensler on day one is still in doubt, given the independent nature of the SEC and the fact that the president would need a strong case for his dismissal, and that such action could be met with legal action from Gensler, a battle that could last for more than a year, according to Fortune.

In any case, markets are buying the more optimistic narrative and continuing to push higher amid unprecedented momentum. For example, the CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com said that the future of cryptocurrencies is brighter than ever.

This unprecedented optimism has led to more than $2 billion being pumped into spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds since Trump’s victory, including $1.38 billion in a single day, the highest pace since the ETFs were launched, according to SoSo Value.

Futures market activity is also continuing to record performance, with open interest in bitcoin futures approaching $50 billion for the first time in its history, amid continued buyer dominance since Saturday, according to CoinGlass figures.

Bitcoin is also benefiting from a favorable economic climate in the US, which was reinforced by the Federal Reserve’s 25 basis point rate cut at its last meeting. Jerome Powell also spoke in his speech following the decision announcement about the strength of the US economy – despite some mixed labor market data. The Fed is expected to continue cutting rates at its December meeting, with a 68% chance of a quarter point cut as well. However, the probability of a January cut has fallen from over 60% to below 24% today, according to the CEM FedWatch Tool.