Bitcoin surged past $100,000 yesterday for the first time in over 11 years since it first breached the $1,000 mark, bringing the total market capitalization to a new high of $3.9 trillion. The primary catalyst for this rally has been Donald Trump’s election, with Bitcoin rising 50% since Election Day as he aims to position the U.S. as “the Bitcoin superpower of the world.”
We have come a long way since the FTX bankruptcy and the subsequent crypto winter, which saw Bitcoin plummet to as low as $16,000 and the entire market cap drop to around $800 billion.
So, where do we go from here? Many analysts predict Bitcoin could reach between $200,000 and $250,000 next year, which would represent a 100% gain, but this would require moving a market capitalization of approximately $2 trillion.Another perspective is that cryptocurrency is now recognized as the seventh asset class, valued below gold at around $7 trillion, with applications that extend far beyond merely serving as a store of value. If we are indeed entering a mega bull market for this asset class, Bitcoin’s dominance—having reached 55% yesterday—may begin to diminish as other cryptocurrencies gain traction. It will be interesting to see if Trump implements a national Bitcoin reserve.
In other news, U.S. equities were slightly lower as investors await the Non-Farm Payroll (NFP) report today, which is expected to show that the U.S. economy added 183,000 jobs in November, up from just 12,000 last month.
In France, the CAC 40 climbed by 40 basis points for the sixth consecutive session as President Macron prepares to appoint a new Prime Minister in the coming days. This move is hoped to facilitate the passage of a budget aimed at reducing France’s deficit back to 5% next year—bonne chance!