U.S. President Donald Trump signed an order to establish a strategic reserve of cryptocurrencies, and made several crypto-friendly appointments.Kevin Wurm/Reuters
Bitcoin rallied to all-time highs on Thursday, powered by demand from institutional investors and friendly policies of U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration.
The world’s largest cryptocurrency rose to a peak of US$116,046.44 as of 5:27 EST, breaking the US$113,734.64 record scored earlier on Thursday. It is now up about 24 per cent this year.
In March, Trump signed an executive order to establish a strategic reserve of cryptocurrencies. He has also appointed several crypto-friendly individuals, including Securities and Exchange Commission Paul Atkins and White House AI czar David Sacks.
Trump’s family businesses have also made forays into cryptocurrencies. Trump Media & Technology Group is looking to launch an exchange-traded fund to invest in multiple crypto tokens including Bitcoin, SEC filing on Tuesday showed.
Ethereum rose 3.01 per cent to US$2,905.24 as of 5:30 EST.