Leaving behind months of doubts about the value of cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin is now at its all-time high. The value of the currency has surpassed $100,000 for the first time in history and continues to rise strongly.
The reason for the cryptocurrency’s value growth—which has increased by more than 4% in a single day, reaching a valuation of $102,732.6—is the proposal made by the next president of the United States to appoint Paul Atkins as head of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Atkins is a staunch supporter of cryptocurrencies, so from his position at the institution that regulates the country’s financial market, he could provide a significant boost to the adoption of digital currencies in the U.S.
The new head of the SEC will take office on January 20, 2025, the same day Donald Trump returns to the White House. According to Trump on his own social network—Truth Social—Atkins “believes in the promise of strong and innovative capital markets that meet the needs of investors and provide capital to make our economy the best in the world.”
“He also recognizes that digital assets and other innovations are crucial to making the U.S. greater than ever,” Trump said about Atkins, who will replace Gary Gensler, who resigned last November and whose stance on crypto assets was completely opposite.
With this statement, which acknowledges the crucial role digital currencies will play in the next term, and the confirmation of Atkins—who was already a commissioner at the SEC during George W. Bush Jr.’s administration—euphoria has erupted in the cryptocurrency sector. It is expected that he will ease the strict financial regulation currently in place in the United States regarding digital assets.
But this surge is just the latest climb after a record-breaking year. So far in 2024, Bitcoin has increased its value by 140%, becoming the largest investment asset, surpassing all public companies in the United States. Its market value stands above two trillion dollars, an amount greater than all government bonds in Spain.
Interestingly, more than 45% of that value increase has occurred since November 6, when Donald Trump won the presidential elections in the United States.
