Bitcoin's price rose above the $82,000 mark for the first time thanks to traders' hopes that
Donald Trump will support cryptocurrencies when he returns to the White House.
On Monday,
bitcoin hit a record high of $82413 before falling back to $82000, a gain of about 2.8%. The price has more than doubled, that is from about $37,000 in 12 months.
The election also impacted traditional currency markets, individual stocks - notably electric car company Ilon Musk Tesla - and broad U.S. equity markets as investors bet on deregulation and tax cuts under Trump.
In the past, Trump has called bitcoin "a
feature against the dollar," but during the U.S. election campaign, he changed his attitude toward cryptocurrencies by grooming the crypto community and speaking at industry events. That raised expectations of relaxed regulations to make it easier for retail savers to invest in bitcoin and other
cryptocurrencies, though Trump has not outlined any policy.
The dollar rose in value as investors expect the U.S. government to spend heavily, the dollar gained 0.6 percent against a trade-weighted basket of currencies and the euro fell to its lowest level since May.
One euro could be bought for less than $1.06 on Monday, down from $1.12 at the end of September. The pound also fell 0.4 percent against the dollar and is below $1.29, near its lowest level since August. In China, investors expect new stiff tariffs to be imposed. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 1.5% on Monday, which some investors said was a disappointing response to China's economic stimulus program announced last week.
Although the debt swap program, aimed at strengthening local government finances, amounted to about ?10 trillion (?1.1 trillion), economists at Deutsche Bank said it "disappointed market expectations as it lacked direct fiscal stimulus and targeted measures to improve the housing market."
Other cryptocurrencies such as ethereum and dogecoin, a meme token previously backed by Ilon Musk, the head of Tesla and owner of X, whose fortune rose by $26.5 billion shortly after the election results were confirmed, also rose in the wake of the election.
Tesla's share price rose 7 percent in pre-market trading as investors hoped the government would allow the automaker to accelerate the development of autonomous car technology. Dan Ives, a prominent technology analyst at Wedbush Securities, said he believes that "Trump's victory in the White House will be a watershed moment in the autonomous systems and artificial intelligence story for Tesla and Musk in the coming years."
Musk isn't the only cryptocurrency supporter Trump is listening to. In September, Trump even backed World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency venture run by his family, which could draw criticism for potential conflicts of interest if he decides to deregulate digital assets. His son, Donald Trump Jr., has said cryptocurrency offers an alternative to the banking system, which he claims is biased against conservatives.
Ronald Temple, chief market strategist at investment bank Lazard, said Trump has promised to fire Gary Gensler, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, "on the first day" of his presidency.
"Gensler has advocated for tighter regulation of cryptocurrencies for much of his term" as head of a key U.S. financial regulator, according to Temple.
Share prices of listed cryptocurrency companies may also rise.
Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase jumped 40% in value after the election results, and its share price rose another 16% in pre-call trading on Wall Street. Microstrategy, a software company whose founder led a huge bitcoin purchase, rose 12% in pre-election trading.
Matt Simpson, senior market analyst at City Index, called movements in cryptocurrency markets "pump Trump" as traders bet the president-elect will kick off a period of cryptocurrency adoption.
Bitcoin's price correlated with the share of votes for Trump during the election campaign. Its price was below $70000 dollars on election day last Tuesday, but since then it has risen in value by almost a fifth. Some market watchers believe the price could exceed $100,000 this week.