Representations of the cryptocurrency Bitcoin are seen in this illustration taken on November 25, 2024.
Dado Ruvic | Reuters
Bitcoin’s price moved further away from the psychologically important $100,000 mark as investors took profits on the token’s gains following the US election.
The world’s largest cryptocurrency by market cap was trading down 6.2% at a price of $92,446.38 as of 5:55 a.m. ET, according to CoinGecko data.
Other chips were also in the red. Ether, the second largest coin, fell 4.2% to $3,346.86, while Solana’s sol token fell 8.9% to trade at a price of $231.88.
The total crypto market cap – calculated by multiplying the total number of coins in circulation by the price – fell from $182 billion to $3.35 trillion.
Despite Tuesday’s decline, bitcoin has risen more than 30% since the November 5 U.S. presidential vote, which resulted in the election of former White House chief Donald Trump.
The Republican politician has not yet been inaugurated. However, optimism around Trump’s pro-crypto policy platform in the run-up to the vote has reignited buzz for digital currencies.
Optimism in crypto markets is bolstered by news of the resignation of U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler, under whose leadership the agency initiated legal proceedings against several major companies of cryptography, on January 20, the day of Trump’s inauguration. Trump had promised to replace Gensler as head of the agency.
