Bitcoin (BTC) maintained its gains in the last few hours and even surpassed the US$99,000 mark. The boost came after the news that Gary Gensler, current chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), will step down in January.
Despite reaching a new all-time high of US$99,486.10, the world’s largest cryptocurrency was unable to sustain the level. The breakout of the long-awaited $100,000 level has not yet come, but it could happen soon.
At around 9:30 am (Brasília time) this Friday (22), Bitcoin had appreciated by 1.0%, quoted at US$ 98,799.90, according to data from the website CoinGecko.
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Gensler is seen as an opponent of the crypto sector. He has sued several companies and argues that practically all cryptocurrencies, with the exception of Bitcoin, are unregistered securities.
Additionally, the SEC chairman delayed approving Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for as long as possible. And, even after the release, he made a point of making it clear that he was against the launch of these products.
During his presidential campaign, Donald Trump stated that he would work for Gensler to leave command of the regulatory body. Yesterday, the executive announced that he will leave the SEC on January 20, 2025, the day of Trump’s inauguration as US president.
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Now the expectation is that the Republican will choose someone favorable to the cryptocurrency industry to head the SEC, which encourages investors given the possibility that the activities of companies in the sector will be facilitated and products aimed at digital currencies will have a better chance of approval.
Despite this, there remains apprehension in the market about when Bitcoin will be able to break the US$100,000 mark. “We continue to see strong demand for BTC coupled with further easing of monetary policy by global central banks, which tells us that Bitcoin prices will likely remain sustained as we approach the end of the year,” the crypto firm said. QCP Capital in a report this Friday.
Altcoins on the rise
Meanwhile, altcoins (cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin) began to gain traction on Thursday afternoon, with several reaching important milestones.
The highlight is Solana (SOL), the third largest cryptocurrency by market value, which rises 7.8% this morning and reaches the level of US$259.34, after reaching US$263.70 earlier, marking its historic maximum.
Ethereum (ETH) is up 5.2%, quoted at US$3,341.53, close to its highest level since July this year. With the appreciation, the total cryptocurrency market reaches a value of US$3.44 trillion.
