Donald Trump’s election success has fired a new wave of enthusiasm for cryptocurrencies. From Moneyweb.
South African crypto exchanges are reporting a massive bump in trading volumes following Donald Trump’s election as the next US president in early November.
Read: Bitcoin hits record as pro-crypto Trump wins presidency again
Bitcoin (BTC) traded briefly at R1.7 million on local exchanges last week before settling back to R1.63 million on Monday. This is nearly double the price it traded at in late October.
Bitcoin in ZAR
BTC traded above $92 300 on Monday, nearly a third above its previous high of $71 000 reached in June.
Trump has vowed to make the US the crypto capital of the world, though how he delivers on this remains to be seen. The hope is that he provides clearer guidelines for traditional finance companies eager to board the bitcoin train and, potentially, other cryptocurrencies such as ethereum.
“We’ve seen a massive increase in trading volumes since Trump won the US election, anything between 200% and 400% depending on the coin,” says Richard de Sousa, CEO of crypto exchange AltcoinTrader. “We know the other exchanges in SA have seen similar increases in volumes.”
Trading volumes in BTC and US dollar-backed stablecoin Tether (USDT) have jumped more than fourfold since Trump’s win. Tether is popular with crypto traders as it allows them to park profits in what is becoming a global proxy for the US dollar.
“Tether has become the dominant trading pair on trading exchanges. Everyone’s buying. It’s crazy,” adds De Sousa.
Volumes in meme coin Doge have likewise exploded more than 130% in a week, largely in response to Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s frequent shilling of the coin on X and his involvement in the new Trump administration.
“What a time for crypto,” says Luno SA’s country manager, Christo de Wit. “It’s been a tremendous two weeks with excitement on the price movements [of cryptos]. “
We’ve experienced significant volume on our platform, surpassing the levels previously experienced in March 2024 when BTC reached its previous all-time high. Exchange volume has more than doubled, and we are continuing to see increased volume on Luno.”
Read: Bitcoin churns near $90 000 after largest drop since US election
It’s much the same at VALR, with a sharp volume increase in recent weeks, says CEO Farzam Ehsani. “Many more corporates and sovereign states are rethinking their portfolio allocation, particularly with the US speaking about a strategic bitcoin reserve.”
Trump has promised to hold onto bitcoin seized by the US government, primarily due to criminal investigations. These bitcoin have historically been sold by law enforcement authorities to convert them to US dollars. Trump may throw his weight behind US senator Cynthia Lummis, a hardcore bitcoin enthusiast, who recently introduced the Bitcoin Act, which aims to create a strategic bitcoin reserve as a way of addressing the US’s towering national debt.
The Trump election has sparked renewed interest in BTC, as pension funds and other traditional financial institutions are under pressure from clients to dip their toes into the world’s fastest-growing asset. It’s becoming increasingly untenable for fund managers to justify zero exposure to BTC, reports NBC.
The bitcoin bump has had a knock-on effect on altcoins. Ether (ETH) traded at R56 600 on Monday, bringing it within a whisker of its previous all-time high.
ETH in ZAR
The bitcoin Fear & Greed index is now at “Extreme Greed” though history has shown it can run much further in price before retreating.
The index is based on measures such as volatility, market momentum, social media trends and trading volume and is often used by traders to identify potential market tops and bottoms.
Data from crypto research firm Chainalysis shows bitcoin moving into increasingly powerful hands, with fewer willing to sell – even at these prices.
