Equity markets and crypto assets soared this week after Donald Trump was elected as the 47th President of the United States. Running on the most pro-crypto election platform ever, Trump made his victory synonymous with a booming crypto market and successfully attracted new pro-crypto voters. With Trump winning the US presidential election and the prospect of a Republican-controlled House and Senate, speculation has begun regarding what’s next for the crypto industry ahead of his January 20 inauguration. Overall, the industry’s regulatory headwinds may have turned into tailwinds following Trump’s victory over Vice President Kamala Harris.
Regarding the future of crypto in the US, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong stated that “the crypto voter has spoken decisively – across party lines and in key races across the country,” adding that “219+ pro-crypto candidates and counting have now been elected to the House & Senate.” A closely watched contest was Ohio’s Senate race, where crypto-friendly candidate Bernie Moreno secured a win over Sen. Sherrod Brown, the Senate Banking Committee Chair who previously had called for a crackdown on crypto usage. With Brown losing his race, the Senate Banking Committee chair position is now open.
The outcome of the US election has brought many winners so far. US equity market indices closed Wednesday at record highs. Bitcoin (BTC) is trading around $76,000 and continues to climb after reaching new all-time highs the night following the election. Solana (SOL) surpassed $200 for the first time since April. Most high-market-cap meme coins posted significant double-digit gains, led by Dogecoin (DOGE), which gained almost 25% on the week. DOGE has also benefited from Elon Musk‘s public support since 2021. Musk, who backed Donald Trump, proposed a Department of Government Efficiency, abbreviated as D.O.G.E, a clear nod to the token. Major DeFi tokens such as Aave, Uniswap, and others surged 25-30% in response to Trump’s victory.
US crypto-linked equities also outperformed, including Bitcoin mining companies and Coinbase, whose shares jumped more than 30% in the trading session following the election outcome. Bitcoin ETFs were also among the top beneficiaries. BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF IBIT saw a record $4 billion traded on Election Day, with an unprecedented $1.1 billion in single-day net inflows. Overall, the 12 US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded a total daily net inflow of $1.38 billion, marking their highest daily net inflows since their launch in January. Elsewhere, crypto investment products attracted an additional $2.18 billion in net inflows globally last week, pushing year-to-date figures to a record $29.2 billion, according to a bullish report by CoinShares.
Meanwhile, the US Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 25 basis points in line with expectations. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) reduced the benchmark federal funds rate to a range of 4.50%-4.75%. This follows a 50 basis points cut in September. Fed Chair Jerome Powell, speaking for the first time since Trump’s victory, noted that the election results would have “no effect” on the Fed’s near-term policymaking, alleviating concerns about a potential hawkish shift. With Trump’s presidential win, Bitcoin (BTC) is poised to continue performing well. JPMorgan analysts highlighted in a report the “debasement trade,” an investment strategy that profits from the devaluation or weakening of a currency, typically driven by inflationary or expansionary fiscal policies. In this strategy, investors turn to assets like gold and Bitcoin, viewed as reliable stores of value..
Market Overview
The global cryptoasset market capitalization currently amounts to roughly $2.67 trillion – up from $2.4 trillion last week, with bitcoin accounting for 56%. Among the Top 30 cryptoassets by market cap, Dogecoin (DOGE) outperformed along with Cardano (ADA), with both gaining more than 25% over the week. The price of bitcoin (BTC) rose by 10% to $76,296 while the price of ether (ETH) increased by 16.7% to $2,927. The total value locked (TVL) in DeFi is sitting at almost $97 billion, with Ethereum (excluding Layer 2s) accounting for about 56% of TVL. Arbitrum One remains the largest Layer 2 by value locked, accounting for about 36% of the $39.5 billion in assets.
This Week’s Headlines
- French Polymarket whale estimated to make $79 million on US election bets amid reports of France looking to ban the platform
- Former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) received offers for his controlling stake in the company, Bloomberg reports
- Anchorage Digital, Bullish, Galaxy Digital, Kraken, Nuvei, Paxos and Robinhood partner to introduce stablecoin-based Global Dollar Network
- State of Michigan’s state pension fund discloses over $10 million worth of Ethereum ETF holdings
- WonderFi’s CEO kidnapped then released after paying $1 million ransom
- Ethereum developers roll out Mekong testnet to trial next year’s Pectra upgrade
- Bitcoin mining difficulty breaks through 100 trillion for the first time
- Solana token platform Pump.fun hits record revenue amid AI and memecoin frenzy, surging to $30.5 million in October
Notable Deals and Fundraising
- Ethereum-based solar project Glow raises $30 million in funding round led by Framework Ventures and USV
- Vlayer raises $10 million in pre-seed funding to build Ethereum’s “Solidity 2.0”
- Crypto-AI startup Pond raises $7.5 million in seed funding
- Ethereum scaling infrastructure startup Spire Labs raises $7 million in seed funding
- Web3 chain game A-World raises $5 million Series A financing
- Zodia Custody in talks to raise $50 million, Bloomberg reports
