KEY POINTS
- Trump's sweeping victory triggered Bitcoin's spike to $93,000
- Other altcoins also rode the wave, including SEC-battered Ethereum and $XRP
- 'The broader crypto market is entering a new era marked by mass adoption and global regulatory backing': WeFi's Maksym Sakharov
Cryptocurrency has hit a new milestone – passing $3 trillion in market capitalization, and there has been nothing but celebrations among Bitcoin holders and owners of other crypto tokens that also rode the green wave since Donald Trump won the 2024 U.S. presidential race.
As of early Monday, cryptocurrencies have collectively reached a $3.2 trillion market cap, largely driven by Bitcoin, the world's largest digital asset by market value ($1.8 trillion).
$BTC Hits $93,000
Since the presidential race was called for the Republican nominee, Bitcoin has been reaching new record-highs and passed $93,000 for the first time last week.
The crypto industry had been celebrating Trump's victory – the President-elect painted himself as the "crypto president" during his campaign – being a headliner at the Bitcoin Conference in Nashville and even recommending BTC as the possible key toward paying off the country's $35 trillion debt.
For Maksym Sakharov, the co-founder and group CEO of permissionless and borderless neobank WeFi, the crypto market's surge is largely attributed to Bitcoin's spike toward $93,000.
"With Bitcoin's hard cap, deflationary status, and demand from spot BTC ETF [exchange-traded fund] products, it was only a matter of time before its price soared to the current level," he told International Business Times.
Aside from continuing demand for spot Bitcoin ETFs, there's also the digital currency's technical features and regulatory clarity. Notably, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has not targeted Bitcoin as much as it did with Ethereum (ETH) and XRP.
Altcoins Ride the Bitcoin Wave
As BTC prices surged since Nov. 6, many other altcoins joined the ascent, including Ether, XRP, Cardano (ADA), and Solana (SOL).
XRP, which suffered a significant downtrend after the SEC sued Ripple in 2020, has finally reached $1, raising hopes among token holders who didn't sell their coins when Ripple was defending its case against the Wall Street regulator.
Sakharov believes that while the altcoins that soared in recent days were affected by Bitcoin's upward trend, "the majority have a thriving ecosystem with widely adopted products."
"Ethereum powers the decentralized finance (DeFi) economy, Solana fuels the memecoin revolution, while protocols like Chainlink (LINK) fuel real-world asset tokenization through its CCIP [cross-chain interoperability protocol] solution," he said.
Crypto Enters New Era of Broader Adoption
Trump's win has triggered optimism among crypto industry enthusiasts. The industry suffered from a "crypto winter" after the shocking collapse of FTX. It was soon followed by stringent regulatory oversight that many in the sector believe had been "regulatory overreach."
Trump initially opposed crypto and once said Bitcoin seemed like a scam, but he made a dramatic transition in the lead-up to the elections and was embraced by many crypto leaders who endorsed his campaign.
Sakharov believes that with the recent optimistic signals around top cryptocurrencies, "the broader crypto market is entering a new era marked by mass adoption and global regulatory backing."
Will Volatile Sector Rise Above the Challenges?
Even with Trump's victory and a potentially friendlier Congress, the crypto market remains extremely volatile. Bitcoin has retreated below $92,000.
"Despite the rapid price rallies, assets may still fall significantly without warning. The market also has some useless products and scammers that generally make some investments at high risk and with low reward," Sakharov pointed out.
Many crypto firms are balancing the narrative with efforts toward compliance. Among them is crypto exchange Bitget, which recently re-launched in the United Kingdom after fully complying with the UK's financial promotions regime.
The crypto industry continues to evolve. With the backing of the government in the world's largest economy, industry experts are anticipating further development within what was once a widely doubted sector.
