Bitcoin tops $100,000 as monster 2024 rally reaches new heights
Summary
The price of bitcoin soared past the long-awaited $100,000 benchmark for the first time ever late Wednesday evening. The move came hours after President-elect Donald Trump announced plans to nominate Paul Atkins as chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, fulfilling perhaps his most important campaign promise to the crypto industry: to replace Gary Gensler, who has become something of a villain in crypto for the agencys regulation-by-enforcement approach to the industry under his leadership. Its a day of celebration for longtime bitcoin investors, who have held on for dear life, or "HODLd" through several of the cryptocurrencys boom and bust cycles, during which government and financial institutions remained dismissive — and even hostile — toward the asset class. In November, Rick Wurster, the incoming CEO of Charles Schwab , said the firm is preparing to enter spot crypto trading, pending regulatory changes expected in the next Trump administration. On Wednesday, Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell said bitcoin is "just like gold only its virtual, its digital," speaking at the DealBook conference.