The attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday appears to have boosted Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
Bitcoin surged by more than 10% over the past week and more than 5% in a single day, reaching around $63,000 on Monday morning. Just days earlier, it was hovering around $55,000 as the now-defunct crypto exchange Mt. Gox began repaying its creditors billions of dollars’ worth of Bitcoin, leading to a massive sell-off.
The attempt on Trump’s life is seen as potentially increasing his chances of winning the presidential election as the Republican nominee. The crypto community is optimistic because they believe Trump’s recent crypto-friendly stance could benefit the industry if he is elected.
Other cryptocurrencies mirrored Bitcoin’s rise. Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, soared over 10% in the past week with a more than 5% jump in a single day, trading at $3,300. Major cryptocurrencies like Solana and Dogecoin saw their values increase by 5.4% and 4.8%, respectively, in just one day.
Several cryptocurrencies associated with Trump or the Republican Party also experienced gains. TrumpCoin (DJT), despite not being officially affiliated with Donald Trump, surged nearly 25% in the past seven days and is currently trading at $0.008964. Misleading claims by Martin Shkreli, also known as “Pharma Bro,” suggested TrumpCoin has backing from Trump and his son Barron, but these claims are false.
Investors have also been pouring money into spot Bitcoin ETFs in recent days. Spot Bitcoin ETFs experienced consecutive inflows since July 5, with over $310 million on July 12 alone. Among these, BlackRock’s IBIT saw $120 million in inflows, the highest among all spot Bitcoin ETFs, followed by Fidelity’s FBTC with $115 million. Grayscale’s GBTC, which typically sees outflows, attracted $23 million from investors.