Donald Trump has told Bitcoin investors “you’re welcome” after the price of the digital currency surged above $100,000 (£78,000) for the first time in the wake of his election victory.
Bitcoin hit $103,900 in trading on Thursday , an all-time high, as cryptocurrency speculators rode a wave of optimism that Mr Trump will loosen rules around digital currencies.
The price of Bitcoin climbed more than 7pc overnight on Wednesday after Mr Trump announced Paul Atkins, a cryptocurrency lobbyist, as his nominee to chair the US Security and Exchange Commission.
On Truth Social, Mr Trump’s social network, the president-elect told followers: “CONGRATULATIONS BITCOINERS!!! $100,000!!! YOU’RE WELCOME!!! Together, we will Make America Great Again!”
Mr Atkins will replace Joe Biden appointee Gary Gensler as head of the markets watchdog. Mr Gensler was disliked by cryptocurrency advocates after the regulator unleashed a series of lawsuits against companies in the sector under his watch.
Mr Trump said Mr Atkins was committed to “common sense regulations” and “recognises that digital assets and other innovations are crucial to making America greater than ever before”.
While once critical of digital currencies, Mr Trump has recently embraced them to raptures from his supporters.
The about-turn helped bring in tens of millions of dollars in donations for his re-election campaign from cryptocurrency companies and entrepreneurs, such as the billionaire Winklevoss twins and crypto exchange Coinbase.
Mr Trump has declared himself a “crypto president” and said he will consider creating a “stockpile” of the cryptocurrency for the US government.
Speaking at a cryptocurrency conference in July, he said: “Never sell your Bitcoin. If I am elected, it will be the policy of my administration, the United States of America, to keep 100pc of all the Bitcoin the US government currently holds or acquires into the future.”
US officials have previously seized billions of dollars in cryptocurrency from scammers, hackers and defunct dark web marketplaces such as Silk Road.
The price of Bitcoin has climbed more than 50pc since Mr Trump’s victory over Kamala Harris in the US presidential race on Nov 5.
The total value of all cryptocurrencies topped $3.7 trillion on Thursday, according to data from Coinmarketcap. That makes all digital coins worth more than Apple, the world’s most valuable company.
Many of the digital assets have been fuelled by amateur speculators and have questionable utility.
However, mainstream investors have also poured into cryptocurrency assets, buying up stakes in Bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds, which are listed on traditional stock markets. More than $1.5bn has flowed into these Bitcoin-linked funds so far in December.
Analysts at Standard Chartered have predicted Bitcoin could hit $200,000 next year on the back of continued adoption by major investors.
The surging price of digital assets means those who spent or traded their Bitcoin during its early years, when the coins were practically worthless, are sitting on colossal paper losses thanks to the cryptocurrency’s stratospheric rise.
One early developer, Laszlo Hanyecz, spent 10,000 Bitcoin to buy two pizzas in 2010. Those pizzas would now be worth over $1bn at today’s prices.
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