Bitcoin reached an all-time high of $109,241 just before Trump’s inauguration ceremony but fell back to $107,765 around 07:40 GMT.
The world’s largest cryptocurrency has surged since Trump won the presidential election in November, surpassing the $100,000 mark for the first time in early December.
This surge followed Trump’s nomination of cryptocurrency supporter Paul Atkins to lead the US Securities and Exchange Commission, which heightened optimism that the new administration would deregulate the sector.
Despite previously labeling cryptocurrencies a “scam,” Trump has since changed his stance and became a strong advocate for them during his election campaign.
Over the weekend, he launched his cryptocurrency, aptly named $TRUMP, which prompted a buying frenzy that boosted its market capitalization to several billion dollars.
When bitcoin reached the landmark $100,000 level, Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform: “CONGRATULATIONS BITCOINERS!!! $100,000!!! YOU’RE WELCOME!!! Together, we will Make America Great Again!”
Cryptocurrencies have made headlines since their creation, from their extreme volatility to the collapse of several industry giants, foremost among them the FTX exchange platform.
Bitcoin was conceived in 2008 by a person or group writing under the name Satoshi Nakamoto.
It was pitched as a way to break free of mainstream financial institutions by establishing a decentralised platform for transactions.
The digital currency is created — or “mined” — as a reward when powerful computers solve complex problems to validate transactions made on a meddle-proof register known as the blockchain.
Bitcoin has long been criticised for being the currency of choice for making untraceable payments on the so-called dark web, a hidden part of the internet used for criminal activities.
The asset has often come under attack for facilitating money laundering and allowing extortion through ransomware attacks.
Its carbon footprint has also come under scrutiny because mining cryptocurrencies requires huge amounts of energy.
AFP
