Bitcoin (BTC) has fallen sharply from the fresh all-time high achieved by the world’s largest cryptocurrency on Thursday.
Bitcoin topped out at $104,000 late on Thursday evening before crashing more than 13% lower in the space of five hours.
After bottoming out at $90,500, the BTC/USD pair has since settled at around $98,300, where it was trading on the spot markets at the time of writing.
President-elect Donald Trump has fuelled the surge in bitcoin’s price.
His campaign promises included making the US a crypto hub and building a bitcoin reserve.
On Thursday, Trump announced the appointment of former PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) chief operating officer David Sacks as his ‘White House A.I. & Crypto Czar’.
An ardent Trump supporter who reportedly raised millions for the president-elect’s campaign, Sacks “will guide policy for the Administration in Artificial Intelligence and Cryptocurrency, two areas critical to the future of American competitiveness”, Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Trump added: “David will focus on making America the clear global leader in both areas. He will safeguard Free Speech online, and steer us away from Big Tech bias and censorship.
“He will work on a legal framework so the Crypto industry has the clarity it has been asking for, and can thrive in the U.S. David will also lead the Presidential Council of Advisors for Science and Technology…”
Trump has also named Paul Atkins as the new Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chair when current chair Gary Gensler departs in January.
Atkins is seen as more sympathetic to crypto than Gensler, who has led numerous high-profile litigations against prominent crypto firms including XRP token developer Ripple Labs during his stint.
Bitcoin is currently up 132% year to date.
Bitcoin’s performance in 2024 – Source: tradingview.com