Bitcoin price hits new high due to expected Trump victory

Crypto advocates gleefully took to social media on Tuesday evening to hail the price surge and predict the impending resignation of Democratic-appointed Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler, whom many blame for suppressing the industry.

Bernie Moreno, the Republican Senate candidate in Ohio, also defeated Democratic incumbent Sherrod Brown, who chaired the powerful Banking Committee. Moreno raised tens of millions in industry donations after being active on a pro-crypto platform, while Brown was targeted due to his anti-crypto stance.

The likelihood of a Trump victory was also an endorsement for crypto-based betting site Polymarket, whose prediction markets have been pointing to a victory for the Republican candidate for weeks. Heading into Election Day, the site favored Trump by about 58%, but by late Tuesday evening those odds had risen to about 90%.

Meanwhile, numerous other cryptocurrencies gained ground as the election results emerged. Ethereum, the second largest cryptocurrency, rose about 7%, while the third largest cryptocurrency Solana gained about 15%.

The new cryptocurrency Dogecoin saw the biggest gains with an increase of almost 20%. The surge is explained in large part by tech billionaire and Trump ally Elon Musk, who has long been a proponent of Dogecoin and recently claimed he would run a Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) under a Trump administration.

The election outcome is also good news for listed companies such as Coinbase and MicroStrategy, whose share prices are closely linked to the performance of Bitcoin.