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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Technology
Rachael Davies

Why is bitcoin going up? Bitcoin prices surge to all-time high

Bitcoin climbed to an all-time high late on Wednesday, July 9, soaring up and past $112,000 (£82,000).

At the time of writing on the morning of July 11, it’s up 1.69% to hit £86,795.46. Since the beginning of the year, bitcoin has surged by 18%.

While the cryptocurrency surge of a few years ago is past, this new record for bitcoin highlights that the value of trading it is far from over.

Cryptocurrency changes rarely come from nowhere, so here’s a closer look at what has sparked this new high for bitcoin.

Why is Bitcoin going up?

Now more than ever, traditional financial market players are embracing cryptocurrencies, with bitcoin – the world’s largest – often seen as the most reliable.

In the US, the Trump administration has launched various crypto-friendly policies over the last few months, which has helped secure market confidence in cryptocurrencies as a whole.

As just one example, Trump Media & Technology Group, run by the Trump family, has confirmed plans to launch its own exchange-traded fund.

The goal is for it to invest in multiple crypto tokens, including bitcoin, ether, solana and ripple, according to a filing with the US markets regulator on Tuesday.

This comes after the Trump family has also launched various meme-coins based on their names, once again highlighting the presidential interest in them. This isn’t even the first time that bitcoin has hit an all-time high seemingly due to Trump’s influence.

The effects of bitcoin’s rise

The rise in bitcoin's price has had a knock-on effect on other cryptocurrencies, with ether, the second-largest digital currency, hitting a one-month high this week.

At the same time, other crypto-related stocks also saw dramatic increases, with Strategy rising by 4.7% and Coinbase Global rising by 5.4%.

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