Bitcoin prices surpassed $97,000 for the first time on Thursday, November 21, on expectations of a friendlier US regulatory approach to cryptocurrencies under newly-elected President Donald Trump. According to data from Coinmarketcap, Bitcoin prices rose 5.7% to around $97,445 with a current market cap of $1.93 trillion.

The price of the world’s largest cryptocurrency Bitcoin hit an all-time high of $97,628 and is marching towards the $1,00,000 mark.

Bitcoin’s price has more than doubled this year and the crypto market as a whole consolidated gains of around $900 billion since Trump was elected the next US president and a slew of pro-crypto lawmakers were elected to Congress.

“Market sentiment was strengthened by a media report on Trump’s plan to create a special role in the White House for crypto policy. Expectations of faster regulatory clarity, coupled with BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF options predicting a price target of $176,000 by 2026, have driven BTC’s price to the $97,000 milestone,” said Edul Patel, co-founder and CEO of Mudrex .

Trump promised to make the United States the “crypto capital of the planet” and build a national stockpile of bitcoin.

Bitcoin’s dazzling rally underlines the growing influence of the digital asset sector as it calls for the creation of a special White House position focused on cryptocurrency policy under Donald Trump.

Trump’s team is reportedly in discussions about creating such a role, with industry representatives lobbying for direct access to the newly elected president, who has emerged as a prominent proponent of cryptocurrencies.

These developments add to the positive sentiment in the US digital asset market, alongside MicroStrategy Inc.’s plans. to accelerate Bitcoin purchases and the introduction of options trading on US-listed Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs).

More than $4 billion has flowed into US-listed Bitcoin ETFs since the election. This week marked a strong debut for options trading on BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF, with call options — which indicate bullish bets on price increases — outpacing put options, Reuters reported.

(With input from Reuters)

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