Bitcoin Nears $70,000 After Trump’s Speech

Bitcoin (BTC) has approached the $70,000 level for the first time since early June. The development comes just days after Republican candidate Donald Trump announced plans to make the asset a national strategic asset if he comes to power in November.

Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and BRETT, a relatively new memecoin on the Base blockchain, are currently leading the gains in the crypto market. Solana’s SOL is the biggest gainer among major tokens, up 6%, while BNB Chain’s BNB, ether (ETH), and XRP are all up between 2-5%.

BCH is up over 10% as Mt. Gox completes its distribution of tokens to its creditors, outperforming the CoinDesk 20 Index (CD20), which is up 3.6%.

Bitcoin is currently trading above $69,500, up 3%, while ether (ETH) is trading above $3,300, up 4%, according to CoinDesk Indices data.

According to CoinGlass data, BTC’s steady price increase has led to the liquidation of $13.8 million worth of short positions, while $11.4 million worth of ETH short positions are also being wiped out from the market.

Trump said in a widely-anticipated speech on Saturday that if elected in November, he would fire current SEC Chairman Gensler, create a strategic bitcoin reserve and block the U.S. from selling its bitcoin holdings. Trump believes the asset could one day rival gold and be “the equivalent of the steel industry 100 years ago.”

Some analysts initially thought that BCH would be the loser with the Mt. Gox refunds, as bankruptcy restitution covers a disproportionately large percentage compared to bitcoin. But now, all those concerns appear to be unfounded.

The market is responding positively to BRETT, a “mascot” memecoin on the meme-heavy Base blockchain. BRETT is Pepe the Frog’s roommate in Boy’s Club.

BRETT has gained 11% in the last 24 hours, while POPCAT, a cat-themed memecoin, has gained 7%.

Trump-themed tokens, on the other hand, remain in the red despite the former President’s speech at the BTC 2024 conference in Nashville.

According to CoinGecko data, the MAGA (TRUMP) token has lost 18% of its value in the last week. TREMP, on the other hand, is trading sideways with a 0.3% drop in the last 24 hours and is down almost 10% in the last week.