Bitcoin surges above $100k in post-election rally

Illustration of Donald Trump holding a bitcoin in Hong Kong

Trump has promised to make the US 'the crypto capital of the planet'

(Image credit: Paul Yeung / Bloomberg via Getty Images)

What happened

Bitcoin topped $100,000 for the first time Wednesday, hours after President-elect Donald Trump said he would nominate cryptocurrency advocate Paul Atkins to chair the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Who said what

Wednesday's high-water mark — $103,713 for a single bitcoin — capped an "extraordinary rally since Election Day," when the world's largest cryptocurrency was trading at $69,374, The Wall Street Journal said. A "wave of campaign spending" by crypto firms helped send 298 pro-crypto lawmakers to Congress and Trump to the White House. Trump in turn promised to make the U.S. "the crypto capital of the planet" and create a "strategic reserve" of bitcoin.

The crypto industry wants legislative and regulatory changes that, "generally speaking, aim for an increased sense of legitimacy without too much red tape," The Associated Press said. Atkins, a former SEC commissioner who co-chairs the Chamber of Digital Commerce's Token Alliance, is expected to be much friendlier to the industry than outgoing SEC Chair Gary Gensler.

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What next?

Bitcoin, worth about $5,000 in early 2020, "now stands as arguably the most successful investment product of the last 20 years," The New York Times said. It also "remains prone to extreme volatility," significantly "contributes to climate change" has "long been used by scammers and thieves." But "who can prohibit it?" Russian President Vladimir Putin asked Wednesday, according to Reuters. "No one."

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.