Bitcoin prices rose on Tuesday, supported by the prospect of more friendly cryptocurrency regulations in the United States, as traders anticipate Donald Trump will win a second term in the 2024 presidential race.
Reports also showed that the SEC was close to approving an exchange-traded fund that directly tracks the world’s No. 2 token, Ether, adding to optimism about a better regulatory environment.
Bitcoin is up 2.3% over the past 24 hours to $64,073.6 by 01:27 ET (05:27 GMT). Speculation about Trump helped the coin surge after concerns about selling pressure from distributions by the defunct cryptocurrency exchange Mt Gox. This saw Bitcoin crash to a low of $54,000 earlier in July.
Bitcoin surges on Trump bets
Bitcoin’s rally came after a failed assassination attempt on Trump over the weekend, which was seen as a major boost to the former president’s popularity.
This has given Trump some advantage over President Joe Biden in the 2024 presidential race. Trump was formally nominated as the Republican presidential nominee on Monday, and he also chose Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance as his running mate.
Trump has maintained a largely supportive stance toward the cryptocurrency industry, recently stating that the future of Bitcoin should be built in the United States, not abroad.
Trump is also scheduled to speak at a Bitcoin conference in Nashville later this month.
A second Trump term is likely to provide a more positive regulatory outlook for cryptocurrencies in the United States, especially after a series of crackdowns on the industry by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Justice in recent years.
The Securities and Exchange Commission still has cases against XRP and cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase (NASDAQ:), with both companies facing allegations of distributing unregistered securities.
Cryptocurrency Price Today: Altcoins Rise, Ether Soars Amid Hopes of Spot ETF
Among the broader cryptocurrency prices, altcoins rose, tracking gains in Bitcoin.
The world’s second-largest cryptocurrency rose 2.6% to $3,420.75. Reuters reported that the Securities and Exchange Commission has given preliminary approval to at least three of the eight asset managers who applied for a spot exchange-traded fund, with trading set to begin next week.
The launch of a spot Ethereum ETF could attract the same number of institutional investors as Bitcoin did earlier this year. Bitcoin hit record highs shortly after the spot ETF launched.
Other altcoins also rose, up 3% and 2.4%, respectively.
Among meme symbols, it increased by 4.3%, while it increased by 7.1%.