Bitcoin at $109,241, hits all-time high after launch of $Trump and $Melania meme coins

The world's biggest cryptocurrency Bitcoin reached an all-time high of $109,241 on January 20 as United States president-elect Donald Trump prepares to officially take over the White House.

Ahead of crypto-friendly President Donald Trump's inauguration and amid the launch of his and wife Melania Trump's meme coins — $TRUMP and $MELANIA, Bitcoin surged as much 5.5 per cent to set a fresh record, as per a Bloomberg report.

According to data on Coinmarketcap, Trump's meme coin has hit a market capitalisation of $11 billion, down from high of $15 billion; while Melania's token is fast gaining, with a market cap of nearly $2 billion hours after release early today.

Brief Hit to Crypto Markets

The Bloomberg report added that for some time on January 20, the Trumps' meme coins shocked the cryptocurrency market, leading to drops for Bitcoin, Ethereum and other smaller tokens, but the flow normalised through the day. As the London market opened, Bitcoin, Ether and XRP all rose rapidly, with traders counting down the hours until Trump becomes US President for a second time, the report added.

Bloomberg News previously reported that Trump is considering an executive order designating cryptocurrencies as a “national priority” asset class.

The meme coins launched by Trump and his team have further accelerated Bitcoin’s momentum as retail traders look for the Republican to “prioritise and reaffirm his commitment to the crypto industry,” Ben El-Baz, MD of HashKey Global told Bloomberg.

According to CoinGecko, $TRUMP is currently the 21st most valuable form of crypto in the world while $MELANIA is the 80th most valuable, adding them among the richest in the world.

The Trump family crypto tokens have led to a significant surge in the wealth of incoming US President Donald Trump, making him one of the richest people in the world, according to a New York Times report.

Reactions to $TRUMP and $MELANIA Meme Coins Divided

Meanwhile, crypto investors remain in “party mode”, awaiting executive orders from Trump that will reduce regulatory roadblocks and promote widespread adoption of digital assets, according to a Reuters report.

While fans and crypto enthusiasts have hailed Donald Trump and his family's “business savvy” in making crypto decisions, critics have called into question the ethics and even conflict of interest arising from the assets.

(With inputs from Bloomberg and Reuters)