The price of Bitcoin surged by more than 6% in minutes to a new high ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration as president of the United States.
Bitcoin (BTC) briefly surged above $109,000 on Jan. 20, breaking its previous all-time high above $108,000 recorded on Dec. 17, 2024.
According to data from TradingView, BTC hit a new high of $109,036 at 6:55 am UTC before dropping below $108,000 in minutes.
Bitcoin 24-hour price chart with new ATH. Source: TradingView
Bitcoin traded at $108,342 at the time of writing and is up around 3% over the past 24 hours, according to data from CoinGecko.
Bitcoin hits new ATH hours before Trump will be sworn in as POTUS
Bitcoin’s new high came hours before Trump was to be sworn in as the 47th president of the United States at 4:00 pm UTC.
Trump’s inauguration has been a major catalyst for bullish action in cryptocurrency markets. His Nov. 6 presidential victory fueled a massive crypto rally, leading to Bitcoin surging above $100,000 for the first time in early December 2024.
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Growing optimism around Trump’s presidency in the crypto community is largely attributed to his ambitious crypto-related plans, including a potential strategic Bitcoin reserve for the US and expected crypto deregulation.
Sharp spike in odds of BTC reserve in the first 100 days of Trump’s presidency
Bitcoin’s latest record high came amid a sharp increase in speculation that Trump will establish a strategic BTC reserve within his first 100 days in office.
Odds of a US BTC reserve in Trump’s first 100 days saw sharp volatility on the crypto-based prediction platform Polymarket before BTC hit its new high.
Polymarket saw a sharp rise in the odds of Trump creating a strategic Bitcoin reserve soon after taking office. Source: Polymarket
The odds on Polymarket began to climb at around 5:30 am UTC, surging to a multimonth high of 69% at 6:30 am UTC, just minutes before the BTC price pumped.
Trump began selling his newly launched memecoin, Official Trump (TRUMP), on Jan. 18. Launched on Jan. 17, the TRUMP token saw record-breaking growth, which may have multiplied Trump’s net worth by as much as 5x.
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