Trump Wins: 5 Key Crypto Moments from Election Night
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Key takeaways:
- Bitcoin rally shows Trump’s win wasn’t priced in.
- Industry groups successfully oust anti-crypto candidates.
- Prediction markets take a victory lap after proving polls wrong.
- Bloodbath for meme coins across the political spectrum.
Countless polls had predicted that the US presidential race was on a knife edge, with a razor-thin margin separating Donald Trump and Kamala Harris.
However, as the results began to pour in, it quickly became clear that Trump was on course to retake the Oval Office, with Republicans also seizing control of the Senate.
This resounding win is fueling speculation that Bitcoin’s bull run may be about to enter a parabolic phase.
Here are five key crypto moments from election night.
1. Bitcoin Hits a New All-Time High
In the early hours of Wednesday morning, we learned one thing: BTC hadn’t priced in the impact of a Trump victory.
The world’s biggest cryptocurrency hit a fresh all-time high of $75,361.09 as traders digested the news — eclipsing the previous record of $73,750, set back in March.
There was also a sea of green among altcoins, with the total market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies racing toward $2.5 trillion for the first time ever.
Throughout his campaign, Trump had promised that he would be America’s first pro-crypto president and unveiled a slew of policies designed to court Bitcoiners.
In addition to vowing to sack SEC chair Gary Gensler on “day one,” the Republican had also called for the Treasury to treat crypto seized from criminals as a strategic reserve.
Trump also declared that he wants all remaining Bitcoin mined in the US and hinted he wants greater control over interest rates, setting the stage for a battle with the traditionally independent Federal Reserve.
The “red wave” seen on election night will likely make it easier for the president-elect to achieve some of these ambitions, but fears linger that his economic plan could hit BTC in the long run.
2. Polymarket Takes Victory Lap
While opinion polls canvassing the opinions of American voters indicated that this race was a coin toss, crypto-powered prediction markets told a different story.
As polling places began to open at 9 a.m. ET on Tuesday, Polymarket showed a 61.7% chance that Trump would secure a second term.
Those odds improved dramatically as results started to trickle in. And as midnight approached, he was given a 95% chance of hitting that magical number of 270 Electoral College votes.
A staggering $3.6 billion was wagered on the presidential election, and countless millions more on the outcomes in battleground states.
However, those who backed Trump may face a little wait before they get a payout, as the market will only be resolved when the AP news agency, Fox, and NBC all call the result.
Polymarket founder Shayne Coplan is clearly vindicated by how his platform performed. It’s a sign that bettors putting their money where their mouths are offer a more accurate picture of future events than statisticians with clipboards.
But challenges for his website loom, as trading volumes could begin to dry up now that the race for the White House is over.
3. Anti-Crypto Politicians Ousted
Beyond Trump’s pro-Bitcoin musings, 2024 will go down in history as the crypto election.
The industry poured hundreds of millions of dollars into key races — with a laser-like focus on one Senate race in Ohio.
That was the seat held by Democrat Sherrod Brown, one of the staunchest voices against digital assets on Capitol Hill.
He’s railed against stablecoins, claimed cryptocurrencies are being widely used to finance terrorism and sidestep sanctions, and called for tight regulations.
Brown was also hugely critical when several crypto firms took out star-studded adverts during the Super Bowl 2022.
After learning that deep-pocketed donors were allocating huge resources to get him ousted from power, he took a defiant tone, telling reporters, “Bring ’em on.”
However, with crypto-powered PACs spending $40 million on ads promoting his little-known rival, blockchain entrepreneur Bernie Moreno, Brown was financially outgunned.
Moreno ended up winning the race with 50.2% of the vote.
Some prominent crypto skeptics remain, with Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren securing a third term.
4. A Shifting Picture Nationwide
Data from Stand With Crypto, a campaign group backed by Coinbase, shows 247 pro-crypto candidates have now been elected to the House of Representatives and 16 to the Senate.
That picture will continue to evolve as more results trickle through.
This huge shift in Congress could make it much easier for crypto-literate legislation to be enacted in the years to come.
Firms across the industry have long been exasperated at regulatory uncertainty that has stifled innovation, arguing that this drives businesses offshore, depriving the US of tax revenue and resulting in fewer consumer protections.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong had a simple message for his followers on X: “We did it.”
5. Political Meme Coins Suffer
Despite Trump’s resounding win, it’s been a bruising 24 hours across the board for political meme coins — a sign that this crypto trend is now in its dying embers.
CoinMarketCap data shows $TRUMP has shed 23.2% of its value in the past 24 hours, with $MAGA down 38.5% and Super Trump Coin plunging 45.4%.
But the biggest wipeout has been reserved for Democrat-focused tokens, including Kumula Herris (down 99.4%) and Kamala Horris (down 92.4%.)
Moving away from typo-riddled altcoins signifies that traders are returning to more established cryptocurrencies, hoping to ride this latest bullish surge.
In a sign that Elon Musk still holds incredible sway over the meme coin markets, only a token named “Department of Gov Efficiency” has come out on top, surging by 118.7%.
That’s a nod to Trump’s suggestion that the billionaire could lead a specially created commission that would perform “a complete financial and performance audit of the entire federal government.”
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