Trump-embraced Bitcoin cryptocurrency surges to $100K mark

The price of bitcoin hit $100,000 on Thursday, a huge milestone for the cryptocurrency that's been embraced by President-elect Donald Trump.

Bitcoin surged multiple percentage points in early trading, pushing it toward the $103,000 mark. Companies related to the crypto market, such as MicroStrategy and Coinbase Global, saw their stocks rise, too, before falling back in trading early Thursday.

The surge in price for the decentralized form of payment coincided with Mr. Trump's decision to select Paul Atkins, viewed as crypto-friendly, as chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

"CONGRATULATIONS BITCOINERS!!! $100,000!!! YOU'RE WELCOME!!! Together, we will Make America Great Again!" Mr. Trump posted Thursday on Truth Social.

Bitcoin is a type of digital investment that allows users to log transactions on peer-to-peer networks instead of using a financial institution. It is viewed as experimental and has gone through boom-and-bust cycles since its creation in 2008 as a response to the financial crisis.

Its origin story gives it a bit of a bad-boy image, and financial regulators have looked askance at the speculative investment. The current SEC leader, Gary Gensler, is seen as an opponent of the crypto industry.

Bitcoin is the most prominent form of cryptocurrency, though alternatives include ethereum, tether and dogecoin. Transactions are recorded on what’s known as a blockchain.

Some experts say crypto's sudden rise reflects generational comfort with a new way of seeing money.

“Today's young people, who grew up using Airbnb and Uber, see peer-to-peer transactions as natural as sending a text message. They've watched Bitcoin's network remain unbreached for 15 years while traditional institutions have faced hack after hack,” said Jillian Grennan, an assistant professor at Emory University who teaches a class on the economics of blockchain and digital assets. 

“This isn't a bubble," she said. "The market recognizes that digital assets are becoming a permanent part of our lives.”

Crypto's been buoyed by Mr. Trump's endorsement and support from figures like billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, owner of X, a major social media platform and bully pulpit.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell might have given bitcoin an unexpected lift with midweek comments that seemed to legitimize the crypto market.

"People use bitcoin as a speculative asset," Mr. Powell told CNBC's Andrew Ross Sorkin at the New York Times' DealBook Summit. "It's just like gold, only it's virtual, it's digital. People are not using it as a form of payment or as a store of value. It's highly volatile. It's not a competitor for the dollar, it's really a competitor for gold."

Gold is up over 20% from the start of the year but has been relatively flat since the election, underscoring the likely Trump effect around Bitcoin.

Mr. Trump told a bitcoin conference in July that he would create a strategic national stockpile of the cryptocurrency.

"For too long our government has violated the cardinal rule that every bitcoiner knows by heart: Never sell your bitcoin," Mr. Trump said in a keynote speech. "If I am elected, it will be the policy of my administration, the United States of America, to keep 100% of all the bitcoin the U.S. government currently holds or acquires into the future."

It’s a turnabout for Mr. Trump, who in 2019 decried cryptocurrency as “highly volatile and based on thin air.” He said it would facilitate illegal activity such as the drug trade.

“We have only one real currency in the USA, and it is stronger than ever, both dependable and reliable,” he tweeted at the time. “It is by far the most dominant currency anywhere in the World, and it will always stay that way. It is called the United States Dollar!”

Since then, he’s embraced the idea of making America the leader in an emerging trend.

“I will end Joe Biden’s war on crypto. We will ensure that the future of crypto and the future of bitcoin will be made in America,” Mr. Trump said during a summer campaign rally in Wisconsin.

Other countries gravitated toward crypto years ago. El Salvador in 2021 became the first country to make bitcoin legal tender.

President Nayib Bukele took a victory lap this week by posting a screenshot on X of his nation's $333 million unrealized profit from its bitcoin investment, prompting Mr. Musk to post, "Impressive," in the first comment.