Bitcoin surged past $15,800 on Friday, climbing 12 percent as traders bet on a Joe Biden victory in the presidential race. The Democratic candidate holds 264 electoral votes against Donald Trump's 214
Bitcoin surged past $15,800 on Friday, climbing 12 percent as traders bet on a Joe Biden victory in the presidential race. The Democratic candidate holds 264 electoral votes against Donald Trump's 214, with projections showing an insurmountable lead.
Across the cryptocurrency market, the momentum spread beyond Bitcoin. Ethereum jumped 11 percent to $445 as the network prepares for its ETH 2.0 upgrade. Smaller altcoins posted gains ranging from 6 to 13 percent. Ripple climbed 6 percent toward $0.30. Litecoin rose 13 percent above $62. Polkadot, EOS, ChainLink, Cardano and Tron all moved into positive territory for the day.
The overall crypto market cap crossed $443 billion, marking its strongest level since January 2018. In the decentralized finance sector, total value locked reached $12 billion, with projects absorbing more than $700 million in deposits over the past 24 hours.
Some market participants credit the rally to election anxiety. Biden's lead triggered what investors perceive as crypto-favorable policy expectations. "Trump has been seen as a great choice for the stock market," according to market analysts, but they view a Biden administration as more likely to embrace digital assets.
Bitcoin now sits $4,200 below its December 2017 peak of $20,000. One analytics firm calculated a 14 percent probability the cryptocurrency reaches that level before the year ends.
Futures markets surged on the news before pulling back. Analysts expect Bitcoin to continue climbing. Altcoins face two paths. If Bitcoin accelerates, smaller tokens may lose ground as capital rotates into the largest asset. But if Bitcoin settles into a consolidation phase near current prices, altcoins could capture significant gains.
The DeFi boom of July and August fizzled compared to current conditions. Back then, liquidity mining campaigns for Compound (COMP), Aave (AAVE), Yearn.finance (YFI) and Synthetix (SYN) drew frenzied demand. The sector has cooled since, though Friday's rebound suggests renewed interest.
