Bitcoin Hits Record High as Trump Takes Early 2024 Election Lead

Bitcoin surged to a record high in Asia trading on Wednesday morning as investors backed former President Donald Trump to win the White House.

The cryptocurrency rose 7 percent to more than $75,000. It hit its previous record high of $73,797.68 in March.

If Trump wins, it is expected he will loosen cryptocurrency regulation.

Early results projected a Trump victory in Florida, a one-time battleground that has shifted heavily to Republicans in recent elections. He also notched early wins in reliably Republican states such as Texas, South Carolina and Indiana, while Harris took Democratic strongholds like New York, Massachusetts and Illinois.

Trump has promoted policies favorable to digital assets , envisioning the U.S. as a leader in the crypto industry, which has drawn support from certain parts of the market. His Democratic opponent Kamala Harris meanwhile, while supportive of the industry, has taken a less laissez-faire approach. The vice president said in September that she would encourage digital assets "while protecting our consumers and investors."

"While Bitcoin would likely fall if Harris wins the election, its response to a Trump presidency is harder to gauge," Ed Yardeni of Yardeni Research said in a note shared with Bloomberg .

Political and digital currency experts who spoke with Newsweek were also uncertain as to whether there was a direct link between Trump's election performance and the price of cryptocurrencies.

"We have seen fluctuations in Bitcoin with various announcements by Trump and he has certainly embraced the industry with a lot of enthusiasm," said Catherine Mulligan, advanced research fellow at Imperial College London's Institute of Security Science and Technology.

More to follow.