- Bitcoin soared 4% to $99,800 today.
- News surfaced of a major SEC shift in favour of crypto when Trump takes office.
- Inflation in the US falls to its lowest in one year.
Optimism seized the cryptocurrency market today.
Bitcoin jumped 4% to $99,800 on Wednesday after Trump’s new SEC leadership is getting ready to trigger a crypto overhaul, Reuters reported. The broader cryptocurrency market grew 3% to a $3.6 trillion market valuation.
The newly-elected President has nominated crypto ally Paul Atkins to lead the agency. Pro-crypto SEC commissioners Hester Peirce and Mark Uyeda are reportedly looking to clarify regulations regarding digital assets, while also reviewing some crypto court cases.
One cryptocurrency that stands to win big from a pro-crypto SEC is Ripple’s XRP. It is up 30% this month as traders bet it could flip Ethereum.
But Trump isn’t the only driver.
Cooling inflation
Price increases slowed down in December.
US inflation cooled down to its lowest level in one year, rekindling optimism that the Federal Reserve might cut interest rates earlier than expected.
Jerome Powell had hinted at a hawkish 2025 — which put a damper on crypto’s price rally in late December.
That might change. Lower interest rates typically fuel crypto rallies. They make borrowing cheaper, and encourage investors to place their money in riskier assets — like Bitcoin — in search of higher returns.
Some analysts temper the expectations, however.
“For the Fed, this is certainly not enough to prompt a January cut,” said Seema Shah, chief global strategist at Principal Asset Management to Bloomberg.
Shah isn’t alone in her assessment.
“Inflation data coming in line should not be enough for the market to start anticipating a larger number of rate cuts for 2025,” said Rajeev Sharma of Key Wealth.
Banks post records
Banks are also bullish for crypto.
JPMorgan, the largest bank in the US, posted record profits in the last quarter of 2025. The bank notched a 50% spike in profit to $14 billion.
However, analysts at JPMorgan aren’t entirely sure how well the cryptocurrency industry will do in 2025.
In a January 13 note to investors, the analysts said they see less interest for new cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum — despite bullishness surrounding the Trump administration.
Pedro Solimano is a Markets Correspondent at DL News. Got a tip? Email him at psolimano@dlnews.com.