Bitcoin price hits $100,000 as optimism surges on Trump’s SEC pick

Bitcoin has finally surpassed the $100,000 mark after Trump announced a new head for the SEC. This cryptocurrency has seen an incredible increase of 139% this year. Additionally, both Ripple's XRP and Ethereum's Ether are experiencing significant gains as well.

After remaining close to the $100,000 threshold for several weeks, Bitcoin finally surpassed it on Wednesday. This surge followed President-elect Donald Trump's appointment of Paul Atkins, a former commissioner of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, as the new leader of the financial regulatory body.

Bitcoin’s rise marked the end of a year in which Wall Street accepted cryptocurrency as a legitimate asset class. With the election of a pro-crypto Trump, investors grew more confident and rushed to invest in it.

Investors have been keeping a close eye on the asset as it flirted with the important six-figure level, only to fall back after weeks of fluctuations on a global scale.

A couple of weeks after it stalled at $99,600, Bitcoin’s price reached $100,000 at 9:40 AM New York time, as reported by CoinGecko.

With an increase of over 139% this year, Bitcoin has proven that the fears and uncertainties that arose after the FTX collapse in November 2022, along with the conviction of its founder Sam Bankman-Fried, were just temporary hurdles on the path to even greater wealth.

Even Fed Chair Jerome Powell is now expressing a different viewpoint. On Wednesday, he remarked, "It's similar to gold, but in a digital form."

Bitcoin investors are taking to social media to celebrate a recent achievement, and they are determined to maintain their sharp focus on reaching new heights.

Analysts from Standard Chartered predict that Bitcoin will reach $125,000 by the close of this year. Meanwhile, researchers at Bernstein anticipate that Bitcoin could rise to $200,000 by the end of 2025.

Matt Hougan, the top investment officer at Bitwise, a company that offers exchange-traded funds, took it a step further this month by claiming that Bitcoin will surpass the $500,000 mark.

“You're still in the early stages,” Hougan mentioned in a message to clients. “In reality, you will remain 'early' until Bitcoin reaches $500,000.”

You only need to take a brief glance to find many more forecasts. For instance, Arthur Hayes, the co-founder of BitMEX and a prominent figure in the market, believes that Bitcoin will ultimately reach $1 million due to the spending habits of the US government.

Analysts caution that if Bitcoin exceeds the $100,000 mark, it might lead to a decline back to $74,000, which was the cryptocurrency's former peak reached in March.

Gracy Chen, the CEO of Bitget, a cryptocurrency exchange, mentioned to DL News last week that there is a strong chance of a market retreat. On Tuesday, Bitcoin fell to the $93,000s range.

Approximately 15% of Bitcoin options transactions monitored by basedmoney indicate that certain traders are wagering on a decrease in price to a range of $45,000 to $60,000.

Market observers suggest that if there were to be a pullback, it would likely be succeeded by an even greater surge.

Scott Melker, a well-known crypto expert, expressed his feelings by saying, "It's like we're making a strong comeback, but at the same time it feels like we're on the brink of failure, and we're aiming for a million."

Meanwhile, Ethereum's Ether, which is the second most valuable cryptocurrency, is starting to turn around after a period of decline. It has surpassed the $3,800 mark for the first time since early June and has risen by 35% since the US elections on November 5.

In an even more significant development, Solana, which competes directly with Ethereum, has surged by 40% during this time, largely due to its backing of popular memecoins. On November 23, the cryptocurrency hit a record high of $263.

Ripple's XRP has become the most popular cryptocurrency recently. Over the last month, its value has surged by over 360%, largely due to interest from retail investors in South Korea. Experts anticipate that a significant price increase is on the horizon.

Revised on December 5 to provide information about Donald Trump’s candidate for the position of SEC chair.

Pedro Solimano serves as a Markets Correspondent for DL News and is located in Buenos Aires. You can reach him via email at [email protected].