Bitcoin Price Hits New All-Time High Amid US Election Hype

Bitcoin just broke its previous peak from March in the latest rally amid a divisive U.S. election and a general rally in the digital asset market.

The world's largest cryptocurrency has risen to $74,504 in a day, according to CoinGecko, beating its previous all-time high of $73,780 in March.

Bitcoin has gained more than 9% in the past 24 hours. It has more than doubled in the past 12 months.

These moves come as former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris have won the U.S. election, with the former taking an early lead in the Electoral College.

Trump or Harris needs 270 Electoral College votes to win the presidency. According to the latest Associated Press data, Trump leads with 198 votes to Harris's 99.

Analysts are citing the so-called “Trump trade,” which they say has helped boost risk assets, particularly stocks and cryptocurrencies.

The business magnate and former reality TV star has been forthright in his comments on the digital asset industry, while Democratic candidate Kamala Harris has been more reserved in her comments on the matter.

As Matthew Siegel, head of digital asset research at VanEck, noted, the crypto industry has been particularly sensitive to Trump’s renewed bid for a second term in the White House.

“Trump has solidified his position over the last month,” he told Decrypt ahead of Election Day. “A lot of his business partners are calling Donald Trump to try to mend fences.”

“I think there’s some positive momentum,” Siegel added.

In previous Bitcoin cycles, the cryptocurrency has reached peaks after four years of halvings. This time, however, is different, with the cryptocurrency last hitting an all-time high in March, just before its April halving.

Bitcoin’s halving occurs every four years and halves the rewards miners receive, incentivizing those responsible for securing the network to work harder and allowing fewer digital coins to be minted and put into circulation.

But Bitcoin’s surge earlier this year likely has to do with the approval of Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). In January, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved 10 such vehicles that make it easier for people to buy shares that track the price of Bitcoin and trade them on stock exchanges.

Since then, capital has flooded into the space, as traditional investors who were previously too wary of buying into the asset can now do so easily thanks to products from Wall Street titans like BlackRock and Fidelity.

These funds have received more than $20 billion in investment this year.