Bitcoin has reached a new record high of $109,000 on Monday.
This is as Donald Trump, who has signalled plans to deregulate the cryptocurrency sector, prepares to be sworn in as US president.
Information gathered revealed that Bitcoin surged to reach an all-time peak of $109,241 ahead of Trump’s inauguration ceremony, before falling back to $107,765 at around 0740 GMT.
The world’s biggest cryptocurrency has soared since Trump won the presidential election in November, with bitcoin surpassing $100,000 for the first time in early December.
It came after he nominated cryptocurrency backer Paul Atkins to head the US securities regulator, reinforcing optimism the new president will deregulate the sector.
Despite having once branded cryptocurrencies a “scam”, Trump changed his stance and was a major advocate of them during his election campaign.
Over the weekend, he launched his own cryptocurrency, appropriately called $TRUMP, sparking feverish buying that sent its market capitalisation soaring to several billion dollars.
When bitcoin reached the landmark $100,000 level, Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform: “CONGRATULATIONS BITCOINERS!!! $100,000!!! YOU’RE WELCOME!!! Together, we will Make America Great Again!”
Cryptocurrencies have made headlines since their creation, from their extreme volatility to the collapse of several industry giants, foremost among them the FTX exchange platform.
Bitcoin was conceived in 2008 by a person or group writing under the name Satoshi Nakamoto.
