Bitcoin rises above $94,000 for the first time (updated)

Bakkt

20/11/2024 11:57

(Updates with comment in paragraph 4 and 6, adds details on
flows and options trading launch)
    By Medha Singh and Ankur Banerjee
       Nov 20 (Reuters) - Bitcoin rose to a record high above
$94,000 as a report that Donald Trump's social media company was
in talks to buy crypto trading firm Bakkt  BKKT.N  boosted
expectations of a crypto-friendly regime under his incoming
administration.
    Bitcoin  BTC= , the world's biggest and best-known
cryptocurrency, has more than doubled this year. It was last at
$93,521 on Wednesday, having hit a high of $94,078 in early
Asian trading hours. 
    The Financial Times said Trump Media and Technology Group
 DJT.O , which operates Truth Social, is close to an all-stock
acquisition of Bakkt, which is backed by NYSE-owner
Intercontinental Exchange  ICE.N .
    "Trump's seeming interest to push further into crypto on a
personal level has contributed to optimism that crypto will be a
top priority when Trump takes office," said Stéphane Ouellette,
chief executive officer of crypto trading firm FRNT Financial.
    Earlier this week, the Wall Street Journal reported Trump
was meeting privately with the crypto exchange CEO Brian
Armstrong, further aiding sentiment.
    Cryptocurrencies have soared since the Nov. 5 U.S. election
as traders bet President-elect Trump's promised support for
digital assets would lead to a less restrictive regulatory
regime.
    Options trading over BlackRock's spot bitcoin ETF  IBIT.O 
on the Nasdaq made a strong debut on Tuesday with a bullish
call-to-put ratio of 4.4:1, according to QCP Capital.
    "We expect these options to be popular and, in turn, may
positively influence trading volumes of these ETPs (exchange
traded products) as the underlying," said Kenneth Worthington,
analyst at J.P.Morgan.
    The growing excitement has taken the global cryptocurrency
market's value above $3 trillion to a record high, based on
analytics and data aggregator CoinGecko.
    U.S. spot bitcoin exchange traded products have attracted
about $4.2 billion in inflows since Trump's election victory,
about 15% of the total inflows since the products were launched
on U.S. stock exchanges in January.  
    Chris Weston, head of research at Australian online broker
Pepperstone, said there is real underlying buying pressure for
bitcoin, and "another kick higher should bring in a fresh chase
from those who like to buy what's strong". 

 (Reporting by Ankur Banerjee in Singapore and Medha Singh in
Bengaluru; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Christina Fincher)
 ((ankur.banerjee@thomsonreuters.com;; Mobile - +65 8121 3925;
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