Author: Omkar Godbole, CoinDesk; Translated by: Wuzhu, Golden Finance
Summary
Bitcoin and PoliFi tokens TRUMP, TREMP, and BODEN suffered losses ahead of Thursday’s presidential debate.
Crypto traders will be watching the debate closely as Trump has made digital assets a key issue in his presidential campaign.
The consensus in the cryptocurrency community seems to be that a Trump victory would be good for the industry.
Cryptocurrency markets showed no signs of excitement ahead of Thursday’s crucial debate.
As of 04:56 UTC, TRUMP, the largest token in the PoliFi space, was trading near $8.50, down 0.5% in 24 hours. Solana-based TREMP tokens fell 7.2% to 74 cents, while Joe Biden-themed BODEN tokens fell 16% to 13 cents, according to data source Coingecko. Meanwhile, Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency by market capitalization, fell 1% to $61,000.
According to TS Lombard, the first presidential debate of 2024, scheduled for Thursday at 9:00 PM ET, could offer voters "some surprises, but there's also the possibility of a rerun if it doesn't produce a close race."
"If a faltering Biden underperforms his opponent, pressure from big Democratic donors to abandon his candidacy will surge, especially as Biden has now lagged in fundraising for a second straight month. If Trump veers off track, the Republicans could prevail. Instead, the responsibility for stabilizing his campaign will shift to Trump's as-yet-unannounced vice presidential pick," Lombard said in a note to clients on Tuesday.
Lombard added: "In both cases, the bar (set by the first heated Trump-Biden debate) is low, but the stakes are high."
The crypto industry has been lobbying to ensure digital assets are discussed during the televised presidential face-off, and potential comments from both candidates could bring volatility to the market.
Crypto traders will be watching the debate closely as Trump has made digital assets a key issue in his presidential campaign by courting industry leaders and, more recently, stressing the need to mine all remaining Bitcoin in the U.S. As a result, cryptocurrencies now factor Trump in, with Standard Chartered predicting a record rally to $150,000 for Bitcoin in the event of a potential Trump win.
Biden, meanwhile, has remained silent on asking federal agencies to explore risks and opportunities, including the possible launch of a central bank digital currency managed by the Federal Reserve.
“Ahead of tonight’s first presidential debate, cryptocurrency traders will be watching closely for clues on what the November election means for Bitcoin and the broader industry,” Neil Roarty, an analyst at investment platform Stocklytics, said in an email.
“The consensus in the cryptocurrency community seems to be that a Trump victory would be good for the industry. Beyond the verbal support he’s given, Bitcoin has tended to perform well during times of political and economic uncertainty, and a second Trump presidency would likely see more of both,” Roarty added.
