Bitcoin Hits ATH Amid U.S. Election and ETF Boom

Bitcoin hit a new all-time high of $74,504 on Tuesday, surpassing its previous peak of $73,780 from earlier this year, according to CoinGecko. The leading cryptocurrency has surged over 9% in the past 24 hours and has more than doubled in value over the past year.

The latest spike in Bitcoin’s price comes during the high-stakes U.S. election between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, with Trump currently leading in electoral votes, 198 to Harris’ 99, according to the Associated Press. Both candidates need 270 electoral college votes to claim the presidency, and the close race has contributed to heightened volatility across markets.

The “Trump Trade” and Bitcoin’s Election-Day Surge

Analysts have been talking about a “Trump trade” at play, which has boosted both equities and crypto. Trump’s renewed shot at the White House is resonating strongly within the crypto community, given his explicit pro-crypto stance. Meanwhile, Kamala Harris has kept her position on digital assets less defined, further intensifying the contrast in candidate policies.

Matthew Sigel, VanEck’s head of digital assets research, suggests that Trump’s return to the White House could be a bullish catalyst for Bitcoin. “Trump has made material inroads in the last month,” he shared, citing momentum and growing connections with industry leaders.

The Role of Bitcoin ETFs in Pushing Prices Higher

Bitcoin’s rally this year has also been fueled by the approval of multiple Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) by the SEC in January. These ETFs, launched by major financial institutions like BlackRock and Fidelity, offer traditional investors easy exposure to Bitcoin through stock exchanges, without the need to directly handle the digital asset.

Since the launch of these ETFs, the crypto market has seen more than $20 billion in inflows, as cautious investors gain a convenient way to buy into Bitcoin. The increasing capital pouring into these ETFs has been instrumental in pushing Bitcoin to new heights, indicating broader adoption among mainstream investors.

Bitcoin’s Unique Price Cycle and Halving Event

Bitcoin’s cycles are often marked by its quadrennial halving event, which reduces the block reward for miners and creates a supply squeeze that historically drives up prices. However, unlike past cycles, Bitcoin reached its previous all-time high in March, before the halving expected in April next year. Analysts attribute this early spike primarily to the popularity of Bitcoin ETFs rather than the typical supply constraints.

With the U.S. election underway and Bitcoin’s continued surge, the coming weeks could see further price momentum as more investors turn to crypto amid election-related uncertainty and the ongoing ETF-driven capital inflows.