Bitcoin Surpasses $106,000 Per Coin as Trump Mocks US Crypto Reserve

Bitcoin hit a new record on Monday, surpassing $106,000 for the first time thanks to new pro-cryptocurrency comments from US President-elect Donald Trump.

The cryptocurrency reached a value of $106,195 in the early morning hours, before shedding some of its gains.

On Monday afternoon, the tit rose again, reaching a new high of $106,320.90 or £83,972.80.

The surge came after Trump told CNBC that he could create a strategic reserve of bitcoin in the United States.

He said: “We are going to do something great with cryptocurrencies because we don’t want China or anyone else (not just China but others to adopt it) and we want to be the head of it.”

Trump’s plan could be to emulate the United States Strategic Petroleum Reserve in the form of bitcoin. The token has a maximum total supply of 21 million, of which 19.9 million already exist.

However, with a limited supply of coins, an American stockpile of Bitcoin could make it difficult for investors to trade.

Data from BitcoinTreasuries reveals that up to 13.9 percent of all Bitcoin is currently owned by governments.

The United States and China own the largest amounts: the United States owns about $20.7 billion, just under 200,000 coins, while China owns 190,000 tokens.

Trump’s words came alongside news that software company MicroStrategy will become a Nasdaq 100 index staple, which also helped boost bitcoin’s value.

MicroStrategy owns about 425,000 bitcoins, with a current value of about $45 billion, making it the largest corporate owner of the cryptocurrency and holder of about 2 percent of the token’s total market value.

Simon Peters, market analyst at Etoro, said: “With MicroStrategy joining the Nasdaq 100 index, this could trigger substantial stock buying as passive investment products that track the Nasdaq 100 index would also have to be rebalanced to include it. now”.

Bitcoin, the most popular cryptocurrency, has rapidly increased in value since Trump’s election and will rise 190 percent in 2024.

It broke the $100,000 barrier a week ago after the incoming president said he would nominate Paul Atkins to replace current Securities and Exchange Commission Commissioner Gary Gensler.

Cryptocurrencies as a whole have been on the rise in recent weeks, fueled by “Trump trading,” as investors look toward possible deregulation of cryptocurrencies under the new president.

Current SEC Commissioner Gensler is widely vilified by crypto investors as a result of his negative perception of cryptocurrencies and his approach to currency enforcement.