Since the assassination of Donald Trump, the price of Bitcoin has risen by more than 9%, questioning the influence of the US presidential candidate on the digital currency.
Donald Trump is a candidate who supports easing fiscal policy and tax rates and is friendly to the cryptocurrency sector. Photo: Fox News.
Cryptocurrency prices continued to spike on July 15 after the assassination of former President Donald Trump. This period of growth comes amid growing optimism among Trump supporters that he will soon become president of the United States in the upcoming November election.
Trump has always called himself a champion of cryptocurrencies, while also criticizing Republican efforts to regulate this market. But is the long-term rise in the cryptocurrency market due to Trump’s support, or is the US presidential candidate just trying to lead a new wave to benefit from this currency?
Fast Company said that although Trump’s support has fueled crypto enthusiasts, this is still not the only reason why the market is buoyant.
Cryptocurrency market soars
Year-to-date, Bitcoin and Ethereum have both gained 45%. These leaps and bounds come from a variety of factors, but mainly thanks to the significant legal achievements that digital currencies have achieved.
In January, nine Bitcoin ETFs were launched, opening up crypto trading opportunities for new players, through traditional financial giants such as BlackRock. In May, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the proposal for the Ether ETF. These spot Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) will directly hold ETH tokens and may begin trading as soon as next week.
Assets such as the dollar, Bitcoin and US bonds all rebounded after Donald Trump’s assassination. Photo: FinBold.
In April, Bitcoin completed its 4th halving event. This is an event that takes place about every 4 years, thereby adjusting the Bitcoin mining reward compared to the previous cycle to half. This event creates scarcity because it slows down the rate at which new Bitcoins can enter the market.
Bitcoin peaked in mid-March, but has slowed ever since. This is partly because Mt. Gox, the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchange, began paying Bitcoin to victims from the 2014 hack, causing the price of the cryptocurrency to plunge due to fears of a sell-off. Meanwhile, last week’s decline was attributed to the German government’s sell-off of confiscated Bitcoins.
Trump’s influence
However, according to market observers, Trump’s strong support cannot be ruled out among the factors that led to the current crypto bullpen.
“Trump has been less cautious in accepting cryptocurrencies. In fact, his campaign is the first to accept donations in this type of property,” Ramnath Chellappa, a professor at Emory University’s Goizueta School of Business, told Fast Company.
Experts say Trump’s support is the only explanation for the unusual growth in the digital market.
“You can compare this to returns in the stock market, commodity prices and other indicators. But no other asset class operates in this way,” Professor Chellappa said.
Since the time Trump was shot on July 13, the price of Bitcoin has risen by about 9% and is now at more than $64,000.
This increase also occurred at the same time as the period when the dollar gradually lost its position. The US dollar index (DXY) has shown a continuous decline since the end of June, causing investors to rush into the cryptocurrency market.
According to Fast Company, Trump is scheduled to speak at the Bitcoin Conference, which will be held in Nashville from July 25-27. Officials said they were negotiating with the security team as well as the Secret Service for security at the event.
Expectations for a spike in the cryptocurrency market
But the question is whether Trump will use the upcoming forum as a launching pad for new regulations on the digital market. Professor Chellappa said: “The fact that the (former) President of the United States openly supports a non-US monetary instrument is a big problem.”
This situation also creates an additional chance for former President Donald Trump to win the election in November. Photo: New York Times.
As Chellappa’s colleague, Rajiv Garg disagrees that the rise of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is linked to Trump (or to the assassination). Garg says what we’re seeing is investors once again turning to cryptocurrencies in anticipation of future spikes.
“If the stock market is more volatile, cryptocurrencies will become a haven for investors. Likewise, if the government is at risk of instability, crypto owners will likely have full control over their digital assets.
Price movements depend on the market’s sentiment for all different asset classes. Cryptocurrencies are often thought of as digital, decentralized, unregulated investment tools. So people assume that shocks in financial, social or political markets will affect price movements,” he told Fast Company.