The world’s largest cryptocurrency had rallied in recent sessions amid growing bets that Republican frontrunner Donald Trump, who has presented a pro-crypto stance- will win a second term.
Bitcoin rose around 1% in the past 24 hours to $67,662.2 by 09:24 ET (13:24 GMT). The token had tested $69,000 over the weekend, but pulled back from those levels by Monday.
Bitcoin and broader crypto markets were now grappling with increased uncertainty over the 2024 elections, after Biden endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic presidential nominee. While Harris will still need to be officially nominated during the Democratic National Convention in August, a slew of top Democrats endorsed her nomination.
Trump- who as of last week was polling slightly ahead of Biden and Harris according to CBS data- said Harris will be easier to defeat, CNN reported.
The prospect of a Trump presidency was a major driver of crypto’s recent rally, given that Trump has expressed support for the industry in recent campaigning efforts.
Trump is set to speak at the Bitcoin Conference in Nashville later in July, and has also called for the token’s future to be built in the U.S.. His campaign accepts donations in crypto.
Still, expectations that Harris may be able to run more effectively against Trump dampened some optimism over a Trump presidency.
Bitcoin traders were also on edge over distributions by defunct exchange Mt Gox, which was seen mobilizing billions of dollar worth of Bitcoin earlier in July.
Among broader crypto prices, major altcoins mostly traded steady after also tracking Bitcoin’s weekend bounce.
World no.2 token Ether fell 0.1% to $3,493.40, with the focus largely on the approval of a spot Ether exchange-traded fund for U.S. markets.
Media reports said a spot ETF could begin trading as soon as this week.
Other altcoins were mixed. XRP and ADA jumped 5.5% and 1.4%, while SOL rose 4.1%, with speculation over a SOL ETF also fuelling gains in the token.
Among meme tokens, DOGE rose 5.8%, while SHIB was relatively flat.
Any near-term rebound in cryptocurrency markets is expected to be tactical rather than the start of a new long-term bullish trend, JPMorgan analysts said in a recent research report. The bank explained that Bitcoin’s current price is too high compared to its production cost of $43,000 and its volatility-adjusted comparison to gold, which is $53,000.
The Wall Street giant also pointed out that bitcoin futures have shown weak momentum recently due to liquidations by creditors of Gemini, Mt. Gox, and the German government. These liquidations are anticipated to ease this month, and the bank expects a rebound in CME bitcoin futures positioning into August.
Both bitcoin and gold are predicted to benefit from the increased likelihood of a Trump election win, the note adds. Analysts noted that “a second Trump presidency is seen by some investors as more friendly towards crypto companies and towards crypto regulations, in contrast to the current Biden administration.”
Source: Cryptocurrency - investing.com
