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.

“A year ago, Bitcoin was trading at $30,000. Today, its value has passed $97,000 – a remarkable growth of over 300%. This rally is fueled by the growing optimism following the re-election of Donald Trump as president of the United States. Bitcoin has set new all-time highs, driven not only by renewed confidence, but also by increasing inflows into Bitcoin ETFs and options. Institutional participation in the market is further driving this upward trend,” said Edul Patel, co-founder and CEO of Mudrex.

Since Trump’s re-election just two weeks ago, Bitcoin has risen 40%, and news of Trump’s plan to take a special role in the White House for crypto policy has further boosted market sentiment, leading to the price action, Patel said.

At this rate, he thinks the $100,000 milestone looks within reach in a few days.

“Overall, changing regulatory clarity and increasing mainstream adoption are playing a major role in this year’s rally,” Patel added.

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.

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(With input from Reuters)

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