Bitcoin (BTC-USD) is back. And just in time for the holidays.
President-elect Donald Trump's win has kicked off a new era of crypto enthusiasm, as he has pledged to "ensure that the United States will be the crypto capital of the planet."
To the delight of crypto execs and investors, the next president has also promised to create a national bitcoin reserve.
Last week, bitcoin touched a record high just shy of the once-mythical $100,000 mark.
SEC Chair Gary Gensler, a villain to the crypto faithful for his industry crackdown, is on his way out.
And while Trump has yet to name his preferred successor, the president-elect’s choices for key administration posts reflect an unmistakable assembly of a pro-crypto Cabinet.
Trump’s picks to lead Treasury and Commerce — hedge fund executive Scott Bessent and Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick — are both boosters of digital currencies.
Trump's embrace counts for a lot. But does a temperamentally traded asset add up to something like gold's store of value or the real-world adoption of a decentralized financial technology?
"Trump 2.0 is an excuse, not a reason when it comes to bitcoin or the other cryptos," George Ball, chairman of Sanders Morris, told Yahoo Finance.
However, Nicole Tanenbaum, partner and chief investment strategist at Chequers Financial Management, said Trump's crypto allies could bring greater clarity to the asset class.
"Today's high interest rate environment creates a different dynamic," Tanenbaum said, "with many starting to question how long the Trump trade euphoria may last, with markets pricing in high expectations at elevated valuations."
The conditions of bitcoin's 2024 tear are different than in prior episodes. And the not-so-distant outcomes may or may not be the same.
But what isn't in doubt is another season of holiday dinner talk.
And a fresh batch of post-Biden devotees rubbing elbows with the old hands and thawed-out winter survivors is expected to bring multigenerational bitcoin trauma — and exuberance — to the table this year.