Bitcoin rose to a brand new all-time high early Monday but declined after President Donald Trump's inauguration.
According to Coin Metrics, the flagship cryptocurrency was last down greater than 2% at $103,558.38 in what seemed to be a “buy the rumor, sell the news” event. Overnight it rose as high as $109,350.72.
Bitcoin gained momentum last week as traders anticipated the launch, seen by many crypto experts as symbolizing a brand new golden era of more supportive crypto regulation within the US. Ahead of the event, speculation grew that Trump might announce an executive order on crypto early in his latest term. Enthusiasts hope he’ll form a crypto advisory council and establish a national Bitcoin stockpile or reserve.
Bitcoin hits latest record ahead of Trump's inauguration
At the weekend, Trump launched the “Official Trump“Meme coin that had surged to a market cap of more than $10 billion as of Monday morning, according to CoinGecko. Returning First Lady Melania Trump launched her own Melania meme coin. Sunday. They attracted trading volumes of $31 billion and $7.2 billion, respectively, in the last day.
“Rumors that cryptocurrencies may be declared a national interest by the United States during the inauguration are having a positive impact on the price of Bitcoin,” Gracy Chen, CEO of crypto exchange Bitget, told CNBC. “I do not believe that the rise in Bitcoin price is due to the launch of new meme tokens. Rather… without the release of the Trump family tokens, the price of Bitcoin would have increased more. Instead, capital was shifted to new coins, limiting overall growth.”
The broader crypto market, as measured by the CoinDesk 20 index, fell 3.6% on Monday afternoon. Solanadown 9%, leading losses after a 14% rally over the weekend and benefiting from the launch of the Trump meme coin on the popular alternative network Ethereum.
According to Joel Kruger, market strategist at LMAX, meme coins are considered the riskiest corner of the already risky cryptocurrency market, but the Trumps' coin launches over the weekend gave traders even more confidence that the new administration will be positive for the industry.
“There is a logic here that suggests that putting a stamp of approval on what might be considered the wildest of all crypto assets, meme coins, is the best way to send a message about how much support “The market should expect from the government when it comes to using crypto and making America a major player in this space,” he told CNBC.
Noelle Acheson, economist and writer of the Crypto is Macro Now newsletter, echoed this sentiment, calling the meme drops positive and “a sign that he is very supportive of new ideas.” [and] latest markets.”
Bitcoin's latest record opens the door for a possible upside extension to $130,000, LMAX's Kruger added.
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