The price of bitcoin rose above R1.5-million for the first time on Monday as the cryptocurrency continued a sensational rally following the US election.

Bitcoin surged to a record high just shy of US$85 000 on Monday on expectations that cryptocurrencies will thrive in a light-touch regulatory environment following the election of Donald Trump as US president and of pro-crypto candidates to congress.

Bitcoin has taken less than nine months to add R500 000 to its value. It first topped the R1-million mark on Valentine’s Day this year.

The world’s biggest and best-known cryptocurrency has more than doubled from the year’s low of $38 505 and was last at $84 551, up 5.8% from late on Sunday, having earlier touched a record high of $84 985.

US-listed cryptocurrency stocks also surged, with crypto exchange Coinbase Global jumping more than 16% and iShares Bitcoin Trust up more than 9%.

Crypto miner Riot Platforms surged 17%, while MicroStrategy, one of bitcoin’s biggest corporate backers, gained nearly 19%.

Trump embraced digital assets during his campaign, promising to make the US the “crypto capital of the planet” and to accumulate a national stockpile of bitcoin.

“The latest all-time high is going to be particularly important for the trajectory bitcoin will travel in the next 12 months. I believe crossing $80 000 — which is a nice, big round number — will catch the eye of many investors,” Anthony Pompliano, founder and CEO at Professional Capital Management, wrote on Monday. “It is hard to find a compelling argument to be bearish or reserved right now,” he added.

Musk on side

Matt Simpson, senior market analyst at City Index, noted that Trump’s near-term priorities may lie elsewhere, but crypto investors see an end to stepped-up scrutiny under US Securities and Exchange Commission chair Gary Gensler whom Trump has said he will fire.

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