Bitcoin's price rose past $97,000 on Tuesday, as the crypto industry speculated about a possible executive order on cryptocurrencies on the first day of Donald Trump's second presidency.
This bounce occurred after bitcoin's price fell below $90,000 on Monday. Over the last 24 hours, the cryptocurrency has risen by more than 6%, closing Tuesday's Asian trading session over $96,000. Despite expectations of a slide below $70,000, which is typical of mid-halving corrections, Bitcoin's durability surprised many, according to Charles Wayn, co-founder of the Web3 infrastructure network Galxe.
"The crypto markets don't seem to be able to decide how they feel about January right now," Wayn explained. "However, politics, not technicals, are driving the current volatility. All markets are paralyzed by the flood of macroeconomic news that is hitting us all at once right now, with a stronger-than-expected US jobs report prompting a major nosedive on Friday."
On Tuesday, U.S. inflation data revealed that the Producer Price Index (PPI) increased by 0.2% last month, which Wayn said indicated that the Federal Reserve was unlikely to raise or cut interest rates in the near future.
However, Trump's approaching second term is a "political wildcard," according to Wayn. "As we know, one of Trump's winning campaigns was his pro-crypto policy and indeed we see he is hosting a private crypto dinner this Friday ahead of the inauguration," says Wayn. "On top of that, we have reports that he could implement pro-crypto policies 'on day one' of his presidency, which is giving us all a bit more confidence."
"However, investors and traders remain trigger-happy, and any good or bad news could send things either way," Wayn explained. "While Trump undoubtedly has more important things to do on day one than set crypto policies, he is a showman and knows this will grab the headlines and provide a feel-good boost for nearly 53 million U.S. investors in the middle of some pretty grim macroeconomic news."
As a result, Wayn predicts that the price of bitcoin will reach a new all-time high "within the next 10 days," and will most likely avoid falling below $70,000.
Bitcoin is now trading at $96,936 as of writing.
"The best thing for anyone involved in crypto to do right now is nothing, to avoid the noise and focus on the projects and communities they care about, while day traders pull their hair out trying to move with sentiment," Wayn told me.
