Topline
Bitcoin reached an all-time high on election night, spiking to nearly $74,000 as election results surfaced, as betting markets and other indicators suggest Donald Trump has an edge on Kamala Harris—though the race is still too close to call.
Former President Donald Trump gives a keynote speech on the third day of the Bitcoin 2024 conference … [+] at Music City Center July 27, 2024. (Photo by Jon Cherry/Getty Images)
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Key Facts
Bitcoin jumped more than 8% Tuesday to $74,659 around 10:08 P.M. EST before lowering below the $74,000 mark briefly.
The surge comes as more states close polls and coincides with increasingly favorable betting odds for Trump to win the election on platforms like Polymarket, Kalshi and PredictIt.
Bitcoin has surged in the lead-up to Election Day and topped $73,000 last week—a seven-month high for the cryptocurrency.
Trump, who has championed himself as a “crypto president” and promised to be more crypto-friendly than Harris or President Joe Biden, also saw a large boost to his media company, Trump Media & Technology Group, which has surged more than 10% in after-hours trading to $37.48 after closing Tuesday at $33.94.
Shares of Tesla, the electric automaker headed by billionaire Trump supporter Elon Musk, are up nearly 3% in after-hours trading to $258.70 after closing at $251.44 earlier Tuesday.
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Forbes Valuation
We estimate Trump’s net worth at $6 billion.
Key Background
Trump increasingly aligned himself with cryptocurrency as his campaign continued this year, accepting crypto donations in May and launching his own crypto platform last month. He has also sold NFT trading cards that sold out and generated millions of dollars, though it is unclear how much of a cut Trump received. This summer, the former president said during a major cryptocurrency convention he wanted the U.S. to become the “crypto capital of the planet,” a stark difference from his stance on cryptocurrency years ago, when he bashed their value as “highly volatile and based on thin air.” Trump also told Fox News in 2021 bitcoin seemed like a scam and criticized the cryptocurrency because it competed against the dollar.
Further Reading
Election Betting Odds: Trump Nears 90% On Major Platforms As More Election Results Come In (Forbes)
Trump Used To Think Crypto Was A ‘Scam’ — Now He’s Launching His Own Crypto Platform Run By His Sons (Forbes)
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