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Bitcoin rallied overnight, hitting an all-time high as former President Donald Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris to win the White House.
The price of the flagship cryptocurrency touched a record $75,000, according to Coin Metrics. It was last higher by 6.5% at $73,929.50, surpassing the prior high of $73,797.68 reached last March. Bitcoin had traded in a narrow range below $70,000 for most of the year since then.
Bitcoin’s overnight gains increased as Trump took a solid lead in the Electoral College. NBC News projected early Wednesday that Trump will defeat Harris and capture more than the 270 Electoral College votes needed to secure victory.
Crypto exchange operator Coinbase jumped 13% in premarket trading. Cryptocurrency-related companies also helped drive smallcap stocks higher, with Riot Platforms, Bit Digital and MARA Holdings all surging by more than 10% in premarket trading.
Investors had expected bitcoin trading to be choppy until a clear winner was declared. A victory for Vice President Kamala Harris was expected to bring risk of downside moves to the price of bitcoin, while traders anticipated a bump in price in the event of a win by Trump.
Bitcoin rises above $71,000 on election night
“The election is having a massive influence on crypto,” said Ryan Rasmussen, head of research at Bitwise Asset Management. “Expect bitcoin – and crypto more broadly – to be choppy in the days ahead.”
In the 2012, 2016 and 2020 elections, bitcoin saw returns of roughly 87%, 44% and 145% in the 90 days following election day, respectively. That’s in part because election years happen to fall on Bitcoin halving years, when the supply of the cryptocurrency ratchets downward. Post election returns have also tended to align with major Federal Reserve policy shifts. This year, the market is looking forward to further interest rate reductions.
“There’s likely to be massive short-term volatility” in cryptocurrency trading in the wake of the U.S. election, said James Davies, CEO at crypto futures and options trading platform Crypto Valley Exchange.
This year’s presidential election has been called the most important one in the crypto industry’s history. Many had viewed Harris as a threat to crypto, while Trump was seen as a sponsor of the industry after presenting himself earlier this year as a pro-crypto champion directly courting the industry.
Many crypto advocates are concerned about burgeoning U.S. government deficit, which rose 8% in the 2024 fiscal year to $1.8 trillion, and increased tax cuts promised by Trump. Bitcoin, like gold, is seen by many investors as a hedge against the potential for fiscal and monetary policy that combine to reduce the value of the dollar and lift inflation.
