Bitcoin hits $109,000 ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration

• Bitcoin’s new high surpasses its previous all-time high of $108,000 reached in December
• President-elect Donald Trump was once critical of Bitcoin, claiming it seemed “like a scam”
• On the eve of his inauguration, Trump and Melania Trump launched their memecoins

Bitcoin soared to new heights, hitting over $109,000 ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration.

The number one crypto asset reached its all-time high on January 20 as market sentiment remains optimistic about Trump’s plans for the crypto industry. The new high surpasses its previous record of more than $108,000 achieved in December.

Data from TradingView shows Bitcoin topped $109,036 around 6:55 am before dropping to $107,000 a few minutes later.

Trump mentioned Bitcoin in a Sunday speech , highlighting its record performance since the US election.

“Since the election, the stock market has surged and small business optimism has soared a record 41 points to a 39-year high,” Trump said. “Bitcoin has shattered one record high after another.”

Support for crypto

Once critical of Bitcoin who said that it “ seems like a scam ” a few years ago, Trump has since embraced crypto, showing his support for it during his presidential election.

During his campaign trail, he vowed to make the US the “ crypto capital ” of the world and has appointed several crypto-friendly candidates into his incoming administration. Some familiar names include Paul Atkins as the next US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chair and crypto czar David Sacks .

Trump is also expected to sign an executive order prioritizing crypto when he enters the White House today.

On the eve of Trump’s inauguration, he launched his $TRUMP memecoin , which, at one point, was valued at $75 per coin, according to data from CoinMarketCap . At the time of publishing, it’s trading at $51 with a market cap of more than $10 billion.

Incoming First Lady Melania Trump also launched her memecoin, $MELANIA , which was trading at a high of $13. It has since dropped to $10 with a market cap of over $2 billion.