Bitcoin hit an all-time high of $109,241 as the US braces for the inauguration of pro-crypto President-elect Donald Trump.
The original cryptocurrency surged by 5.5% on Monday, setting a new all-time high.
This rise followed the unveiling of memecoins by President-elect Trump and his wife, Melania, over the weekend.
Trump’s memecoin quickly reached a market capitalization of over $15 billion before experiencing a sharp decline.
The memecoins briefly unsettled the digital asset market, diverting flows away from Bitcoin and smaller tokens, and drawing criticism from industry executives.
On Monday morning in London, Bitcoin, second-ranked Ether, and XRP all saw rapid increases, as traders eagerly awaited Donald Trump’s return to the White House.
Bloomberg News previously reported that Trump is contemplating an executive order to designate the asset class as a “national priority.”
The memecoins launched by Trump and his team have further fueled Bitcoin’s momentum, as retail traders anticipate the Republican to “prioritize and reaffirm his commitment to the crypto industry,” according to Ben El-Baz, managing director of HashKey Global.
