Bitcoin surges to nearly $70,000 after Trump’s speech at cryptocurrency conference

Bitcoin surged to nearly $70,000 today following a speech by Donald Trump at the Bitcoin 2024 conference.

In his speech, the former US president and Republican Party candidate in the upcoming presidential race said that the United States should “embrace cryptocurrencies.”

Investors are increasingly confident that Trump, seen as a cryptocurrency advocate, will win the US presidential election in November.

Bitcoin hit $69,956 at midday today UK time, before retreating to $66,923 at 6pm

David Morrison, senior market analyst at Trade Nation, told This Is Money: “Bitcoin has had an incredible month. At the start of July, it was trading below $54,000 and at lows last seen in February.

“It was very close to breaking an important support. Now it is approaching $70,000 again and is approaching all-time highs.”

Trump, speaking at a conference in Nashville, Tennessee, on Saturday, warned of China’s growing influence in the digital currency market.

The 78-year-old said: “If we don’t adopt crypto and bitcoin technology, China will do it, other countries will do it, they will dominate, and we can’t let China dominate.”

Trump also spoke about Vice President Kamala Harris, who is poised to replace President Joe Biden as the Democratic nominee for the November election after the 81-year-old withdrew from his presidential bid eight days ago.

Speaking about Harris’s alleged reluctance to embrace cryptocurrencies, Trump added: ‘I promise the Bitcoin community that the day I am sworn into office, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’ anti-cryptocurrency crusade will be over.

“The moment you take the oath, the persecution will cease and the use of weapons against your industry will end.”

Following Bitcoin 2024, Simon Peters, market analyst at eToro, told This Is Money: ‘The price of Bitcoin has responded well, rallying over the weekend since the conference and is currently trading at $69,500, just 6 percent off the all-time high.

‘It appears Trump has the crypto community’s vote and as we get closer to the presidential election, if his chances of becoming president increase, I suspect we will see more positive movements in the price of bitcoin.’

The world’s largest cryptocurrency has regained significant ground since Bitcoin fell to a low of $16,000 in the wake of the FTX collapse in 2022.

In 2023, it languished between $20,000 and $30,000 for much of the year before hitting $43,000 in December in anticipation of U.S. regulator approval of bitcoin spot ETFs.

It approached the $48,000 mark for the first time in a year before the decision, before falling to $38,000 after the decision and then skyrocketing.

By 2024, the price of Bitcoin will have increased by 53 percent.

Peters continued: ‘Beyond the presidential election, it seems we are also starting to emerge from this period of price volatility that typically occurs after block reward halving.

‘The capitulation of the mining companies appears to be slowing, meaning there will potentially be less selling pressure from these entities going forward.

‘With interest rate cuts also on the horizon, which tend to cause asset prices to rise, bitcoin could have a really strong end to the year.’

Morrison added: ‘In comments his detractors will want to ignore or bury, he stressed that Bitcoin “represents freedom, sovereignty and independence from government coercion and control.”

‘That’s not the kind of statement one would expect from a future dictator bent on destroying democracy. Similarly, Trump declared that he would oppose central bank digital currencies, which is exactly what cryptocurrency advocates want to hear.

“This is all reminiscent of Ronald Reagan and is an important and timely intervention.”