Bitcoin has seen a big jump lately. It's now approaching $70,000 per coin, up from under $60,000 just last week. This surge follows a recent earthquake in China and comes as MicroStrategy's founder, Michael Saylor, reveals his ambitious $100 trillion plan.
But there's more to the story. The launch of a new cryptocurrency backed by former President Donald Trump has also contributed to this price increase. Speculation about Trump's chances of winning the presidency next month is climbing, adding to the excitement in the crypto market.
Geoff Kendrick, head of crypto research at Standard Chartered Bank, shared some interesting insights. He noted that Trump currently has a 56% chance of winning the presidency, with a 39% chance of a Republican sweep. These figures come from the crypto-based Polymarket betting platform. Kendrick pointed out that if Trump wins, there's a 70% chance of a Republican majority, which has helped boost digital assets.
On October 16, Trump posted a video on X, stating, "crypto is the future." He encouraged everyone to embrace this incredible technology and lead the world in the digital economy. He even directed viewers to the website of his new crypto initiative, World Liberty Finance, although the site has had some technical issues.
According to Coindesk, only $9 million of the new cryptocurrency has been sold so far. This is a far cry from the initial estimates of $300 million. Lorenzo Valente, a research associate at Ark, expressed some skepticism about the timing and substance of Trump’s venture. However, he mentioned that hiring experienced crypto advisors has helped ease some of the criticism.
Kendrick previously predicted that if Trump regains the presidency, the price of Bitcoin could reach $125,000. In contrast, he estimated it would be around $75,000 if Vice President Kamala Harris wins. Trump's involvement in Bitcoin and crypto through World Liberty Financial and his NFT collections has even prompted Harris to adopt a more crypto-friendly stance.
Earlier this year, at a Bitcoin conference, Trump promised to create a U.S. Bitcoin strategic reserve if he is reelected. He also suggested that Bitcoin's price could eventually surpass gold. Today, World Liberty Financial's WLFI cryptocurrency launched, selling about 220 million tokens to over 1,700 unique wallets in just the first twenty minutes, according to Coindesk.
Trump's sons, Don Jr. and Eric, are deeply involved in the World Liberty Financial project. Trump himself holds the title of "chief crypto advocate," while his son Barron is called the "DeFi visionary." Co-founder Zachary Folkman mentioned that "well over 100,000 people" joined the whitelist to participate in the WLFI cryptocurrency sale.
The WLFI cryptocurrency is designed as a governance coin, allowing holders to vote on the project's direction. It was initially projected to raise around $300 million at a valuation of $1.5 billion, but U.S.-based buyers must be "accredited investors." In a recent X Spaces broadcast, Folkman stated that World Liberty Financial will enable users to borrow and lend crypto, interact with liquidity pools, and transact with stablecoins.