Bitcoin dashed to more than $97K in the early hours in Asia before sliding back to $95K, just as Americans thawed out their frozen turkeys for Thanksgiving.
Most of the crypto market is in the green, with majors Ether, Solana, XRP and Dogecoin recording 2% to 6% gains.
Crypto don’t holiday
As the four-day weekend kicks off in the US, all eyes will be on whether Bitcoin breaks the psychologically important $100K barrier. More so, because the traditional stock markets will be closed.
It’s not like US investors will be twiddling their thumbs while waiting for their turkeys to roast. They may just jump to where trading is open — crypto.
Since the US tops crypto trading volumes, the holiday could actually have an effect on global markets.
Ryan Lee, chief analyst at Bitget Research, sees Bitcoin fluctuating between $85K and $120K in December. Ether, meanwhile, could sit between $3K and $4.5K next month, he says, pointing to growing inflows into US-listed spot Bitcoin and Ether exchange-traded funds. Sustained net inflows into stablecoins are also giving solid momentum.
Trump’s picks could keep coming
Much like crypto, Donald Trump’s transition team is also not switching off during the holidays. The speed at which he has gone about naming people for key positions indicates that he could make more nominations during the weekend.
Key among these is his pick to replace enemy No 1 for the crypto world, Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler. This could happen anytime.
Trump’s team interviewed Paul Atkins, who was previously one of five SEC commissioners between 2002 and 2008. Atkins has said the SEC should adapt to market disruptions (such as crypto!) while preventing misconduct. That’s being read as a pro-crypto approach.
Pressure for pro-crypto policies grows
This week, the narrative around how crypto businesses were stifled by the Biden administration gained more steam. Marc Andreessen, co-founder of venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, told The Joe Rogan Experience podcast that “over 30 tech founders had been debanked in the last four years.”
Debanking is when traditional banking services deny or make life difficult for companies. Elon Musk amplified that comment and, voila, the crypto industry’s biggest faces confirmed their own experiences.
That’s one way of keeping the pressure on Trump to deliver.
