Bitcoin tops $105,000 for first time in new record for largest digital token

Bitcoin surged to a record high of more than $105,000 in early trade as Asian markets opened for trading on Monday morning, with the rise coming days after the digital currency, on December 5, crossed $100,000 for the first time.

At one point, Bitcoin rose over 3 per cent to an unprecedented $106,493, extending the previous December 5 peak, Bloomberg reported.

Smaller tokens such as the second-ranked Ether, as well as XRP and Dogecoin also posted increases.

Experts have credited US President-elect Donald Trump with the rally in Bitcoin’s shares.

The Republican leader, who defeated his Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, in last month’s election and will begin his second term in January, is moving toward creating a “friendly” regulatory backdrop for digital assets, Bloomberg noted.

This will “undo” a crackdown on the largest digital token under the outgoing Joe Biden-led administration, it added.

Additionally, Trump is also reportedly backing the idea of a strategic “national Bitcoin stockpile,” even as questions persist on the feasibility of the idea.

Aya Kantorovich, co-founder of August, an institutional crypto platform, said “a lot of people” were basing their expectations on a “much more favourable” administration.

“The optimism is reflected in demand for exchange-traded funds investing in digital assets,” she added.

Since Trump’s win, Exchange Traded Funds investing directly in Bitcoin have attracted $12.2 billion of net inflows. On the other hand, subscriptions for similar products for Ether have reached $2.8 billion over the same period.