THE world’s largest cryptocurrency by market capitalisation, Bitcoin, has breached the US$100 000 mark for the first time since its emergence in 2008, buoyed by former US President Donald Trump being re-elected.
According to the leading cryptocurrency tracking website, Coin Market Cap, yesterday, one Bitcoin was trading for approximately US$102 830,67, spurring its overall market capitalisation to reach US$2,03 trillion.
Consequently, the entire cryptocurrency market soared to a market capitalisation of US$3,69 trillion, making it more valuable than the world’s largest company by valuation, American technology firm, Apple Incorporated, whose valuation stands at US$3,67 trillion.
The re-election of Trump on November 5 has added US$1,43 trillion to cryptocurrency’s overall market capitalisation.
“It’s official: BTC (Bitcoin) has crossed the US$100 000 mark, shattering expectations and cementing its place in financial history,” the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, said of Bitcoin’s achievement in a statement yesterday.
“What started as an experiment in cryptographic wizardry built on a noble and idealistic intellectual foundation is now a six-figure phenomenon, rewriting the rules of money, trust, and innovation
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“Love it or hate it, this milestone is a global event, the kind that future generations will read about in history books (or, more likely, on blockchain-verified e-readers).”
However, Binance said the road to US$100 000 was not a straight line.
“After hitting US$69 000 in 2021, Bitcoin faced brutal bear markets, macroeconomic uncertainty, industry scandals and regulatory crackdowns. Critics jeered, ‘Tulip mania!’ holders shrugged, ‘Just another day in crypto’,” Binance added.
“Then came the great pivot: central banks printed trillions during economic crises, inflation soared, and people sought a hedge. Bitcoin, with its fixed supply of 21 million coins, looked increasingly like digital gold. Adoption skyrocketed. Price followed.
“The prospect of a crypto-friendly US administration in the United States has amplified this already powerful momentum. Donald Trump’s campaign-trail promises to transform the US into a global crypto hub and establish a US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve further bolstered investor confidence in Bitcoin. While crypto was bound to find its way into the mainstream, these political dynamics accelerated Bitcoin’s ascent.”
Zimbabwean economist Stevenson Dlamini described Bitcoin as a better store of value.
“Bitcoin is one of the best value preserving peer-to-peer payment method invented by mankind. It’s value has been on average increasing surpassing USD$100 000,” Dlamini said.
“Zimbabwe is making efforts to create its own online cryptocurrency and the success, like all other blockchain technology, depends on the trust and confidence that the transacting public will have on it.
“The history of banning cryptocurrencies will have a bearing on adoption, but just like all new technologies, there is almost always some resistance.”
Trump will assume office once again on January 20, 2025, for a four-year term.
In Zimbabwe, the introduction of bond notes in November 2016 caused inflation to spike as it did not have adequate support systems, making consumers turn to Bitcoin trading the following year.
As local Bitcoin trading grew, however, its decentralised nature inhibited the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe’s ability to control it, and thus on May 11, 2018, the central bank issued banned cryptocurrency.
But this has not stopped locals from trading in cryptocurrency, with Zimbabwe boasting a booming market where people are making thousands of dollars monthly.
Its growth and general acceptance globally have since led the authorities to have a rethink.
In June this year, it was revealed that the Securities and Exchange Commission of Zimbabwe and RBZ were working on a framework to allow for the trading of virtual assets.
This comes as the failure of the Zimbabwe dollar, RTGS dollar, bond notes and coins nearly forced the central bank to consider full cryptocurrency adoption before deciding on the Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG) currency, introduced on April 5 this year.
Local banks, however, revealed they were not yet equipped to fully adopt and facilitate cryptocurrency trading.