Bitcoin price crosses $100,000 mark for 1st time

The price of the cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, on Thursday surpassed the 100,000 dollars threshold for the first time on the Bitstamp platform.

The oldest and best-known cryptocurrency climbed by about 4.8 per cent more than 24 hours, reaching 103,252 dollars at about 0300 GMT.

In the past seven days, the leading cryptocurrency has gained more than 7 per cent in value.

Analysts attribute the steady increase to the new political landscape in the United States following Donald Trump’s election victory.

The former and future U.S. president was backed by most of the crypto community during the election campaign.

Trump had been very negative about Bitcoin during his first term in office, from 2017 to 2021, but actively courted the crypto community in this year’s re-election campaign.

At a major Bitcoin conference in Nashville, Tennessee, Trump promised to keep the crypto market largely unregulated and ensure cheap electricity for the mining of new Bitcoins.

On Wednesday, Trump said he intended to nominate Paul Atkins, considered a cryptocurrency supporter, to chair the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which is responsible for regulating and supervising the securities markets and is therefore also responsible for protecting investors.

According to U.S. media, Atkins is likely to take a less stringent approach to regulation than the current chairman of the SEC, Gary Gensler.