On Wednesday (November 20), Bitcoin hit a record high of $93,904 before falling back to around $91,800. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump nominated Howard Lutnick, who supports cryptocurrencies, as Secretary of Commerce and considered Teresa Goody Guillén to take over as Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Billionaire Elon Musk labeled himself as the godfather of Dogecoin in a post, stimulating a surge in Dogecoin.
Trump's new cabinet: Commerce Secretary and SEC Chairman candidates are "pro-Bitcoin"
CoinTelegraph quoted people familiar with the matter as saying that the transition team is considering Theresa, a partner at law firm BakerHostetler and co-head of the blockchain team, as one of several candidates for the next chairman of the SEC. She is an experienced securities lawyer with experience serving the SEC and representing blockchain companies and traditional businesses against the agency.
“She’s the best candidate out of all the candidates right now,” said Brendan Playford, co-founder of Masa, a token-driven decentralized data provider for artificial intelligence (AI) companies. He said Theresa would make immediate changes to the SEC.
“She has a clear understanding of the law, a clear understanding of how the SEC works,” Playford said. “We’re going to have a game-changer who will be able to change the industry right away, and she’s very pro-crypto.”
The Trump team has listened to the opinions of cryptocurrency professionals during the election process, as cryptocurrency professionals spent more than $130 million on behalf of the former president and other Republican candidates. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong reportedly met privately with Trump to discuss personnel appointments.
Theresa May has joined the list of contenders to replace SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, who last week began referring to his job in the past tense and is expected to resign before Trump's inauguration on Jan. 20. SEC chairmen typically resign during the transition to a new administration, and during the campaign Trump vowed to "fire" Gensler on the first day of his presidency.
Other candidates for SEC chairman reportedly include Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP partner Robert Stebbins, Paul Hastings partner Brad Bondi, former SEC commissioner Paul Atkins, Robinhood chief legal officer Dan Gallagher, and former acting Comptroller of the Currency Brian Brooks.
The Trump transition team is seeking an overhaul of the Securities and Exchange Commission and is looking for a pro-business, non-bureaucrat to dismantle the expanded agency created during Gensler's tenure and end the practice of "regulating through enforcement actions," according to three people familiar with the matter.
On cryptocurrencies, the Trump team wants to appoint someone who understands the industry and will exercise restraint in applying securities laws to digital assets until Congress passes clear legislation, the sources said.
Peers believe that Theresa embodies these principles.
“She’s low-key…but she’s very tough,” said Charley Cooper, senior adviser at digital asset solutions provider R3 and former chief operating officer of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). “She will govern based on a substantive understanding of securities laws that apply to both traditional markets and cryptocurrencies, and she will significantly reverse the previous administration’s default approach of regulation through enforcement and arbitrary interpretation of regulations written 90 years ago.”
Nicole Trudeau, general counsel of investment company Wave Digital Assets, has worked with Theresa on a number of crypto-related bankruptcies and SEC takeover cases. He said: "Theresa is a true pioneer in the cryptocurrency field. She has the expertise and vision needed to lead the SEC and promote the growth of cryptocurrency and capital markets in the United States. She embodies all of President Trump's vision for the industry."
"I am pleased to announce that Lutnick will be joining my Administration as United States Secretary of Commerce," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "He will lead our tariff and trade agenda and have direct responsibility for the Office of the United States Trade Representative."
According to AP News, Lutnick is a supporter of the cryptocurrency industry’s leading cause, namely Tether, the world’s largest issuer of the U.S. dollar stablecoin USDT.
"Bitcoin, like gold, should be freely traded around the world," Lutnick said at a Bitcoin conference earlier this year. "As the world's largest wholesaler, we will do everything in our power to make that happen. Bitcoin should be traded around the world like gold, without exceptions, without restrictions."
Trump has taken a positive stance on cryptocurrencies — starting with announcing in May that his campaign would begin accepting cryptocurrency donations as part of an effort to build a so-called “crypto army” before Election Day. Earlier this year, he also launched a cryptocurrency platform with his family called World Liberty Financial (WLFI).
Musk's post "Dogecoin Godfather" triggered a surge in prices
In a recent post that has received more than 47 million views, Musk shared his own emoji tagged "Dogecoin Godfather". This black and white emoji is a direct copy of the classic film adaptation of Mario Puzo's classic novel (The Godfather).
US media believes that this is more than just a meme, as many people have given different interpretations to it, from politics to cryptocurrency. Supporters of the new US government link it to the role Musk will inevitably play. On the other hand, crypto enthusiasts believe that the post is related to Dogecoin.
Some supporters believe that the meme is a direct reference to the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E.), which Musk has said he will implement far-reaching reforms in the government and significantly reduce waste within federal agencies.
As a result, some believe the meme is a sign that he is ready to start streamlining government activities after assuming his new role next year.
Meanwhile, cryptocurrency investors, especially those in the Dogecoin ecosystem, viewed this as one of Musk’s promotional posts. Some even speculated that Dogecoin could gain more prominence as the official token of Twitter (now renamed X) under the supervision of the “Father of Dogecoin.”
Following Musk's post, Dogecoin saw a surge of more than 5%. The market trading volume of Dogecoin soared 35.56% to $9.45 billion, indicating a renewed interest in dog-themed meme coins. Musk's post supported the rebound of Dogecoin.
Nasdaq Launches Options Trading on BlackRock Bitcoin Spot ETF
Bitcoin surged past the $93,000 resistance level on the back of a major announcement from Nasdaq regarding the BlackRock iShares Bitcoin Spot ETF (IBIT). Nasdaq revealed plans to begin options trading on IBIT, making it the first Bitcoin spot ETF to offer such a product.
“We plan to list and trade these options on November 19th,” said Alison Hennessy, Nasdaq’s head of ETP listings. “Bringing these options to market will be exciting for investors because that’s what we’ve heard from them.”
This strategic move coincides with the growing demand for Bitcoin from institutions across the United States since Trump's re-election on November 5. MicroStrategy, the largest listed Bitcoin whale, led the way with $6 billion in Bitcoin purchases over the past 14 days. However, 11 Bitcoin spot ETFs also attracted $2.3 billion in net inflows during the same period.
Nasdaq’s announcement comes after the SEC approved IBIT options contracts in September 2024, highlighting regulators’ growing acceptance of Bitcoin as an asset class.
The addition of options trading provides investors with flexible tools to hedge, speculate or amplify returns on their Bitcoin investments. These contracts allow holders to buy or sell IBIT at a predetermined price within a specified time frame, a key feature for institutional traders with complex strategies.
While BlackRock’s IBIT is currently the only bitcoin spot ETF listed on Nasdaq, rivals listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) Global Markets are expected to launch similar options trading in the coming days.
Although the price of Bitcoin surged 5% in the daily time after the announcement, James Seyffart, ETF analyst at Bloomberg Industry Research, reminded investors of the potential long-term impact of options trading on the Nasdaq-listed Bitcoin spot ETF. He said: "The launch of options can greatly increase the liquidity of the Bitcoin spot ETF and its attractiveness to professional investors."
Bitcoin Technical Analysis
Ibrahim Ajibade, an analyst at FXEmpire, said Bitcoin’s rise to $95,000 showed strong momentum but faced a key resistance area as technical indicators showed mixed signals.
In the daily timeframe, Bitcoin rose 5.17% to $93,816 as traders bet on the positive impact of Nasdaq's launch of options trading on the BlackRock IBIT ETF, with inflows reaching $1.46 billion.
In terms of short-term price action, the Donchian Channel is signaling an imminent breakout above the psychological resistance level of $95,000.
Bitcoin’s current price is close to the upper limit of the channel at $93,800, indicating increasing buying pressure. A daily close above $93,800 is likely to strengthen the bullish momentum, potentially paving the way for a breakout above $95,000 in the coming days.
On the downside, the decline in the Bull-Bear Power (BBP) suggests a slight decline in spot buying momentum. If Bitcoin fails to establish a stable support around $90,000, the bears could push for a deeper correction towards the 20-day EMA around $87,500.
