Investing.com-- Bitcoin rebounded from early losses on Monday, racing to a record high as traders piled into the world's largest cryptocurrency in anticipation of friendlier crypto regulations under President-elect Donald Trump, who will take office later in the day.
Bitcoin jumped over 3% in the span of minutes, hitting a record high of $109,118.
The crypto rose in volatile trade, with crypto market volatility having ramped up over the weekend after Trump launched his own memecoin, $TRUMP, to outsized demand. The token became one of the most valuable cryptocurrencies in less than a day, but logged wild swings in the process.
Trump policies in focus as inauguration looms
Trump is set to take office from 12:00 ET (17:00 GMT) on Monday.
The President-elect has promised to dole out crypto-friendly regulations during his second term, and has vowed to make America the “crypto capital” of the world.
While Trump did nominate several pro-crypto candidates to key regulatory positions, markets were uncertain over what policies he will outline, given that some of his more ambitious promises, such as a Bitcoin Strategic Reserve, could require Congressional approval.
Uncertainty over the impact of Trump’s policies on the broader economy, especially given his hardline stance on immigration and trade, kept risk appetite subdued.
Trump, Melania memecoin volatility dents crypto appetite
Crypto markets initially cheered the launch of Trump’s memecoin, $TRUMP, which accelerated sharply since its launch on Friday. The token was seen rallying over 7000% within hours of its launch, gaining a market capital of over $14 billion.
But the token was then subjected to heavy profit-taking, falling sharply from its weekend peaks.
Trump also drew flak for launching a new memecoin themed around to-be First Lady Melania Trump, $MELANIA, with crypto traders raising some concerns over the ethical implications of Trump leveraging his political status to turn speculative markets in his favor.
The launch of $TRUMP, of which the President-elect holds a significant number of tokens, greatly boosted his personal wealth, at least on paper.
Crypto price today: altcoins less upbeat than Bitcoin
Broader crypto prices were a mixed bag, as traders remained somewhat skeptical towards altcoins amid an ongoing speculative frenzy in memecoins.
World no.2 crypto Ether rose 3.5% to $3,390.65, while XRP was flat at $3.2024.
Solana, Cardano, and Polygon steadied after recouping a bulk of their earlier losses, while among meme tokens, Dogecoin lost 4.7%.