The prospect of presidential nominee Donald Trump facing prison time following his conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records should have had negative consequences for the bitcoin markets.
Trump, who has pledged to fight the guilty verdict, has been increasingly vocal in garnering votes from cryptocurrency enthusiasts.
Talking at the Libertarian National Convention last week, he promised to “stop Joe Biden's crusade to crush crypto”.
“I will ensure that the future of crypto and the future of Bitcoin will be made in the USA, not driven overseas,” said Trump.
“I will support the right to self-custody to the nation's 50 million crypto holders. I say this with your vote. I will keep Elizabeth Warren and her goons away from your Bitcoin, and I will never allow the creation of a central bank digital currency."
Democratic senator Warren has called for stricter anti-money laundering rules in the crypto sector.
Yet bitcoin seemed unfussed by these unprecedented political developments; in fact, it added 1% against the US dollar on Thursday and has remained buoyant at $68,380 today.
Perhaps, as has been theorised by pundits, Trump’s conviction will only serve to galvanise his support base, thus increasing his chances of reclaiming the White House in November.
In the meantime, the BTC/USD pair is up 1.3% week on week, with Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency, adding 2.4%.
Bitcoin remains 62% higher year to date – Source: tradingview.com
Global cryptocurrency market capitalisation currently stands at $2.55 trillion, with bitcoin dominance at 52.9%.
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