Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, hit an all-time high of $109,241 on January 20, as Donald Trump prepared to officially take over the White House.
Ahead of the crypto-friendly president’s inauguration and the launch of the $TRUMP and $MELANIA meme coins issued by Trump and his wife, Melania Trump, Bitcoin surged 5.5% to set a new record, according to a report from Bloomberg.
The surge came after Trump and Melania introduced the meme coins over the weekend, with $TRUMP briefly reaching a market capitalization of more than $15 billion before falling sharply.
The meme coins have disrupted the digital asset market, reducing inflows into Bitcoin and smaller tokens and drawing criticism from industry experts.
Bitcoin, Ether (the second-largest cryptocurrency), and XRP all surged Monday morning in London as traders counted down the hours before Trump officially returned to the White House. Bloomberg News reported that he was considering an executive order that would deem crypto assets a “national priority.”
Read more: Donald Trump’s Project Acquires a Large Amount of ETH
The launch of meme coins by Trump and his team has further fueled Bitcoin’s rally, as retail traders expect the Republican president to “prioritize and reaffirm his commitment to the crypto industry,” said Ben El-Baz, CEO of HashKey Global.
