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The price of bitcoin has shot up nearly 10 per cent following the assassination attempt of Donald Trump.
The pro-crypto presidential candidate’s chances of retaking the White House increased in the wake of the shooting, according to leading bookmakers, triggering renewed hope among investors of bitcoin achieving record highs this year.
The cryptocurrency hit a two week high above $63,000 on Monday, having traded as low as $53,000 earlier this month, though it remains a long way off the all-time high above $73,000 that it reached in March.
Crypto commentators described it as a ‘black swan event’ that bucked bitcoin’s downward trend, while also citing other factors in bitcoin’s recovery.
”Cryptocurrencies positively played off the strengthening chances of Trump’s victory after the assassination attempt,” said Alex Kuptsikevich, a senior market analyst at the online broker FxPro.
“In addition, buyers were clearly encouraged by how the market stood up to a roughly $2.9 billion sell-off in seized bitcoin by German authorities. The appetite for cryptocurrencies was clearly higher.”
Trump is set to speak at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville later this month, with organiser David Bailey confirming his appearance after the shooting.
Mr Bailey added that the presidential candidate will “deliver a speech that is heard around the world”.
After initially expressing skepticism about bitcoin – describing it as “a scam against the dollar” in 2021 – Trump has since changed his stance and now presents himself as an advocate for the decentralised cryptrocurrency.
“Bitcoin mining may be our last line of defence against a CBDC [Central Bank Digital Currency],” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social in June.
“Biden’s hatred of bitcoin only helps China, Russia ans the radical communist left. We want all the remaining bitcoin to be MADE IN THE USA!!! It will help us to br ENERGY DOMINANT!!!”
