By Tom Westbrook
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – The value of the global cryptocurrency market has surpassed $3 trillion after the election of Donald Trump as U.S. president fueled bets that friendlier U.S. regulation could usher in a new boom for all corners of this asset class.
The total market value of cryptocurrencies peaked at nearly $3.2 trillion as of early Nov. 14 in Asia, according to data and analytics aggregator CoinGecko.
That puts it above the heady days of 2021, when pandemic-era stimulus boosted speculative investments, and marks a surprising resurgence from just a few months ago, when cryptocurrency prices and turnover had plummeted. stagnant and prospects were monotonous.
dominates the market and the market value milestone coincided with the token's rise to a record high of $93,480.
“Generally, the way this market is going is that Bitcoin will explode and then the rest of the altcoins will follow,” said Matthew Dibb, chief investment officer at cryptocurrency asset manager Astronaut Capital.
“So there is a gradual rotation of capital… and then we can expect the total market capitalization to increase.”
Trump's election, and that of several pro-crypto lawmakers to Congress, has fueled the wave of euphoria by seemingly clearing up some of the uncertainty around US regulations.
Bitcoin has doubled this year and is up 30% since the US election on November 5, to $90,000. The smallest cryptocurrency, ether, is up about 33% since the vote to $3,220.
A volatile alternative token promoted by billionaire Elon Musk, a Trump ally, has gained 140%.
Cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds have also seen heavy buying, market participants said, possibly an indicator of buying by financial institutions that tend to avoid direct holdings of cryptocurrencies.
“Bitcoin enthusiasts are known for their bold predictions, but hitting $100,000 by the end of the year seems feasible,” said Carl Szantyr, founder and managing partner of Blockstone Capital.
DEJA VU
The explosive rally is the latest in the boom-and-bust rollercoaster that took bitcoin below $20,000 early last year, in the depths of the “crypto winter” that followed the collapse of brokerage FTX and other projects. cryptographic.
Without a doubt, the market value of cryptocurrencies is dwarfed by traditional asset classes. At current prices, the value of the 209,000 tons of gold that, according to the World Gold Council, have been mined in history is worth almost $19 trillion.
The market capitalization of is 50.6 billion dollars.
Some parts of the ecosystem also show no signs of recovery and others point to a degree of caution. Average selling prices for non-fungible tokens have been around $2,000 since May, according to NonFungible.com, which tracks blockchains and Ronin, and have increased, but only to around $2,700.
In Singapore, DBS Bank, which operates a digital exchange, said that while trading had increased and it had executed more than a third of last year's total volume in the first ten days of November, investors were yet to head to the parties. darkest on the market. market.
“We have not seen our clients shift their assets towards more exotic platforms or decentralized exchanges,” said David Hui, chief commercial officer at DBS Digital Exchange.
Still, those in the industry say the renewed attention will bring momentum.
“There is an increased interest and willingness to look at DeFi and other possibilities associated with blockchain,” said Danny Chong, co-founder of decentralized asset tracking platform Tranchess.
“The increased market capitalization, which if sustained over a longer period, would likely also lead to increased interest in new and existing themes,” he said, including the tokenization of real-world assets and blockchain-based payment services.
