The price of Bitcoin hit $100,000 on Thursday, a huge milestone for the cryptocurrency that’s been embraced by President-elect Donald Trump.
Bitcoin surged multiple percentage points in early trading, pushing it toward the $103,000 mark. Companies related to the crypto market, such as MicroStrategy and Coinbase Global saw their stocks rise, too.
The surge in price for the decentralized form of payment coincided with Mr. Trump’s decision to select Paul Atkins, viewed as crypto-friendly, as chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
“CONGRATULATIONS BITCOINERS!!! $100,000!!! YOU’RE WELCOME!!! Together, we will Make America Great Again!” Mr. Trump posted Thursday on Truth Social.
Bitcoin is a type of digital investment that allows users to log transactions on peer-to-peer networks instead of using a financial institution. It is viewed as experimental and has gone through boom-and-bust cycles since its creation in 2008 as a response to the financial crisis.
Its origin story gives it a bit of a bad-boy image, and financial regulators have looked askance at the speculative investment. The current SEC leader, Gary Gensler, is seen as an opponent of the crypto industry.
Yet crypto’s been buoyed by Mr. Trump’s endorsement and support from figures like billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, owner of X, a major social media platform and bully pulpit.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell might have given Bitcoin an unexpected lift with midweek comments that seemed to legitimize the crypto market.
“People use bitcoin as a speculative asset,” Mr. Powell told CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin at the New York Times’ DealBook Summit. “It’s just like gold, only it’s virtual, it’s digital. People are not using it as a form of payment or as a store of value. It’s highly volatile. It’s not a competitor for the dollar, it’s really a competitor for gold.”
Gold is up over 20% from the start of the year but has been relatively flat since the election, underscoring the likely Trump effect around Bitcoin.
Mr. Trump told a bitcoin conference in July that he would create a strategic national stockpile of the cryptocurrency.
“For too long our government has violated the cardinal rule that every bitcoiner knows by heart: Never sell your bitcoin,” Mr. Trump said in a keynote speech. “If I am elected, it will be the policy of my administration, the United States of America, to keep 100% of all the bitcoin the U.S. government currently holds or acquires into the future.”
El Salvador in 2021 became the first country to make bitcoin legal tender.
President Nayib Bukele took a victory lap this week by posting a screenshot on X of his nation’s $333 million unrealized profit from its bitcoin investment, prompting Mr. Musk to post, “Impressive,” in the first comment.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.