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Bitcoin Rises above $90,000 on Trump Euphoria

Bitcoin logos are displayed at the Inside Bitcoins conference and trade show on April 7, 2014, in New York. (AP)
Bitcoin logos are displayed at the Inside Bitcoins conference and trade show on April 7, 2014, in New York. (AP)
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Bitcoin Rises above $90,000 on Trump Euphoria

Bitcoin logos are displayed at the Inside Bitcoins conference and trade show on April 7, 2014, in New York. (AP)
Bitcoin logos are displayed at the Inside Bitcoins conference and trade show on April 7, 2014, in New York. (AP)

Bitcoin charged past the $90,000 level on Wednesday, as its relentless rally showed no signs of easing on expectations that Donald Trump as US president and his administration will be a boon for cryptocurrencies.

The world's biggest cryptocurrency has become one of the most eye-catching movers in the week since the election and touched $91,110 - a record high. It was last up 3% at $91,016, marking a 32% rise since the Nov. 5 election.

Smaller peer ether has similarly soared 37% since election day, while Dogecoin, an alternative token, promoted by billionaire Trump-ally Elon Musk was up more than 150% as the bitcoin frenzy extended across the crypto landscape.

Trump embraced digital assets during his campaign, promising to make the United States the "crypto capital of the planet" and to accumulate a national stockpile of bitcoin.

It is not clear how or when that could happen, but the possibility drove a speculative surge in crypto mining and trading stocks.

Software company and investor in bitcoin MicroStrategy announced it had spent about $2 billion buying bitcoin between Oct. 31 and Nov. 10. Shares scaled a record high on Tuesday.

Crypto investors see an end to increased scrutiny under US Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler, whom Trump has said he will replace. Trump also unveiled a new crypto business, World Liberty Financial, in September.

"Key areas to monitor include potential regulatory changes, increased institutional participation, and a rise in M&A activity," said Carl Szantyr, managing partner of digital asset hedge fund Blockstone Capital.

"The new political landscape may bring clearer regulations for crypto assets and could prompt strategic developments, such as a national bitcoin reserve and growth in the mining sector."

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Dollar Resumes Upward Trend, Euro Hits Lowest since Nov 2022

US Dollar and Euro banknotes are seen in this illustration taken July 17, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
US Dollar and Euro banknotes are seen in this illustration taken July 17, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
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Dollar Resumes Upward Trend, Euro Hits Lowest since Nov 2022

US Dollar and Euro banknotes are seen in this illustration taken July 17, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
US Dollar and Euro banknotes are seen in this illustration taken July 17, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

The dollar hit new multi-month highs against the euro and the pound on Thursday, the first day of 2025 trading, as it built on last year's strong gains on expectations US interest rates will remain high relative to peers.

The euro fell to as low as $1.0314, its lowest since November 2022, down around 0.3% on the day. It is now down nearly 8% since its late September highs above $1.12, one major victim of the dollar's recent surge.

Traders anticipate deep interest rate cuts from the European Central Bank in 2025, with markets pricing in at least four 25 basis point cuts, while not being certain of even two such moves from the US Federal Reserve, Reuters reported.

The dollar was hitting milestones across the board and the pound was last down 0.65% at $1.2443, its lowest since April, with its fall accelerating after it broke through resistance around $1.2475.

"It's more of the same at the start of the new calendar year with the dollar continuing to extend its advances in anticipation of Trump putting in place friendly policies at the start of his term," said Lee Hardman, senior currency analyst at MUFG.

US President-elect Donald Trump's policies are widely expected to not only boost growth but also add to upward price pressure. That will lead to a Fed cautious about cutting rates too much further, in turn underpinning US Treasury yields and boost dollar demand.

A weaker growth outlook outside the US, conflict in the Middle East and the Russia-Ukraine war have also added to demand for the dollar.

The dollar also reversed an early loss on Thursday to climb against the Japanese yen, and was last up 0.17% at 157.26.

It reached a five-month high above 158 yen in late December, potentially putting pressure on the Bank of Japan, which is expected to raise interest rates early this year, but possibly not immediately.

"If dollar/yen were to break above 160 ahead of the next BOJ meeting, that could be a catalyst for the BOJ to hike in January rather than wait until March," said Hardman.

"Though for now markets are leaning towards March after the dovish comments from (governor Kazuo) Ueda at his last press conference."

Even those who are more cautious about sustained dollar strength think it could take a long time to play out.

"The dollar may be vulnerable – but only if the US data confound market expectations that the Fed doesn’t cut rates more than once in the first half of this year, and not by more than 50bp in the whole of 2025," said Kit Juckes chief FX strategist at Societe Generale in a note.

"There's a good chance of that happening, but it seems very unlikely that cracks in US growth will appear early in the year – hence my preference for taking any bearish dollar thoughts with me into hibernation until the weather improves."

China's yuan languished at 14-month lows as worries about the health of the world's second-biggest economy, the prospect of US import tariffs from the Trump administration and sliding local yields weighed on investor sentiment.

Elsewhere, the Swiss franc, another victim of the recent dollar strength, gave back early gains to last trade flat at 0.90755 per dollar.

The Australian and New Zealand dollars, however, managed to break away from two-year lows touched on Tuesday. The Aussie was 0.36% higher at $0.6215 having dropped 9% in 2024, its weakest yearly performance since 2018.

The kiwi rose 0.47% to $0.5614.