Bitcoin climbs to record value on US election night – thanks to Trump?

The price of the cryptocurrency Bitcoin reached a value of more than 75,000 dollars (almost 70,000 euros) on Wednesday, a new high. Bitcoin rose to $75,005.06 in the morning, surpassing the previous high of $73,797.98 reached in March.

This was driven by the prospect of regulatory easing in the event of Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election held on Tuesday. The Republican presidential candidate announced that he wanted to “make America the crypto and Bitcoin capital of the world.” He also said he would be “the pro-innovation, pro-Bitcoin president that America needs.”

Trump is distancing himself from the government of US President Joe Biden, which supports the regulation of cryptocurrencies. These enable digital payment transactions without being controlled by banks.

In the US presidential election, it is not yet clear whether Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris from the Democratic Party will succeed Biden in the White House. However, initial numbers suggested that Trump was ahead in Georgia – one of seven closely contested states. The state later went to the Republican. “The fact that Georgia started turning red might have been the trigger,” said Max Gokhman of Franklin Templeton Investment Solutions, noting that early post-election polls showed Republicans ahead in the state.

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According to analysts, the focus was also on the congressional elections. The 435 members of the House of Representatives and 34 of the 100 senators will be re-elected. Republicans currently have the majority in the House of Representatives. The Democrats currently have a wafer-thin majority in the Senate. The polls had suggested they could lose that majority to the Republicans.