Bitcoin hits record $75,345 as traders expect Trump's victory to boost cryptocurrencies

LONDON (AP) — Bitcoin price hit a new high on Wednesday and crypto-related stocks rallied as investors bet on former President Donald Trump's victory in the United States US presidential election will be a boon for cryptocurrencies.

Bitcoin rose nearly 8% in early trading, climbing above $75,000 and surpassing its previous record set in March. Other cryptocurrencies also rose sharply, including Ether, the world's second most popular cryptocurrency after Bitcoin, which rose 8%.

Another token, Dogecoin, shot up by as much as 18%. It's that Favorite cryptocurrency billionaire Elon Musk, one of Trump's most prominent supporters.

Crypto-related stocks outperformed the rest of the stock market. Coinbase, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges, rose 17%. Online broker Robinhood Markets, which offers crypto trading, rose 12% and MicroStrategy, which says it is the “largest corporate owner of Bitcoin,” rose 10%.

Trump was previously a crypto skeptic but changed his mind and hugged Cryptocurrencies before the election.

He promised to make America the “…” Cryptocapital of the planet” and create a “strategic reserve” of Bitcoin. His campaign accepted cryptocurrency donations and he wooed crypto fans at a Bitcoin conference in July. He also founded World Liberty Financial, a new venture with family members to trade cryptocurrencies.

Bitcoin is up 77% this year.

“Bitcoin is the one asset that was always going to rise if Trump returned to the White House,” said Russ Mold, investment director at AJ Bell, a British online investment platform. After hitting its new high, the market is now speculating “when, not if, it will break $100,000,” he said.

“Trump has already declared his love for digital currency and crypto traders now have a new narrative to get even more excited about where the price could go,” Mold said.

But other experts warned of the risks.

“Investors should only venture into cryptocurrencies with money they can expect to lose,” said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown. “Because we’ve seen these wild swings in the past.”

Crypto industry players welcomed Trump's victory, hoping he would be able to push through legal and regulatory changes they had long advocated for.

Trump had already promised that if elected he would remove Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler, who has led the US government tough crackdown to the crypto industry.

“Tonight, the crypto voter spoke decisively – across party lines and in important elections across the country,” said Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase. “Americans place a disproportionate amount of value on cryptocurrencies and want clear rules for dealing with digital assets. We look forward to working with the new Congress to make this happen,” Armstrong wrote on X.

Streeter said the Trump administration will most likely seek “light regulation” for the crypto industry.

“This is certainly what crypto fans would want,” she said. “They want cryptocurrencies to give the appearance of legitimacy, but they don’t want regulations to be too strict to prevent opportunity and innovation.”

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Associated Press writer Danica Kirka contributed to this report.