Bitcoin Jumps Back Above $80,000 After the Midterm Shock
Set Trending Topics as a preferred source on Google.
First the scare, then the relief: Bitcoin briefly fell below $76,000 overnight as the Democrats’ sweep of the U.S. midterm elections became clear. The largest cryptocurrency has since climbed to about $80,500 (about €72,350), back above the key $80,000 mark. It is up almost 4 percent over 24 hours, and Ether and many altcoins are rallying as well.
Crypto Prices at a Glance
The following table shows a selection of the largest crypto assets by market capitalization (excluding stablecoins), according to CoinMarketCap, as of Wednesday afternoon.
| Crypto Asset | Price | 24 Hours | 7 Days |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bitcoin (BTC) | $80,523.41 | +3.90% | −0.03% |
| Ethereum (ETH) | $2,435.40 | +6.18% | +4.41% |
| BNB (BNB) | $717.67 | +2.76% | −4.15% |
| XRP (XRP) | $1.32 | +3.84% | +0.93% |
| Solana (SOL) | $96.95 | +4.01% | −3.91% |
| Tron (TRX) | $0.3199 | −0.64% | −3.35% |
| Zcash (ZEC) | $1,318.61 | +10.30% | +3.52% |
| Hyperliquid (HYPE) | $86.10 | −0.29% | +7.87% |
| Dogecoin (DOGE) | $0.0776 | +3.35% | −2.04% |
| Monero (XMR) | $640.82 | +3.43% | +6.77% |
| Chainlink (LINK) | $11.68 | +5.29% | +1.16% |
| UNUS SED LEO (LEO) | $9.31 | +0.49% | −1.11% |
| Cardano (ADA) | $0.1986 | +4.60% | −2.07% |
| Stellar (XLM) | $0.1697 | +3.49% | −0.44% |
Zcash is the biggest gainer among the major coins, up more than 10 percent in 24 hours, followed by Ether, up just over 6 percent, and Chainlink, up just over 5 percent. Over the week, Hyperliquid and Monero lead the pack. BNB is weaker, still down more than 4 percent for the week in the aftermath of the record hack at Binance.
Why the Market Turned After the Election
Bitcoin’s quick recovery after the initial slide has less to do with the election result itself than with the end of uncertainty. “Bitcoin dropped initially in response to the Democratic sweep of the midterm elections, but has since recovered as a clear outcome resolves political uncertainty,” Dick Lo, the founder of TDX Strategies, told CoinDesk.
The Democratic victory hardly came as a surprise. On the prediction platform Polymarket, its probability had been above 75 percent for a while, Nicolas Quatravaux, head of EMEA at the crypto derivatives firm Paradigm, pointed out. “So overnight was less about the outcome and more about the uncertainty going away,” he said. Options traders were busy nonetheless: On election day, large bitcoin options blocks with a notional value of about $660 million changed hands, according to Paradigm, more than double the day before. Most of the buying was in call options, which are bets on rising prices.
Stock markets have also recovered most of their losses. Nasdaq futures, which had fallen more than 2 percent overnight, were down just 0.3 percent on Wednesday morning.
What the Democrats Mean for Crypto
Politically, Washington is likely to become a much less comfortable place for the crypto industry starting next year. Democrats are projected to take both chambers of Congress, and with them the committees that future crypto legislation will have to pass through.
- Senate: Senator Elizabeth Warren, widely considered the industry’s biggest enemy in Congress, has a good chance of chairing the powerful Banking Committee. Sherrod Brown of Ohio, another prominent crypto critic, is also returning to the Senate, even though crypto super PACs spent about $63 million trying to prevent his comeback.
- House: According to analysts, the Democratic majority could exceed 60 seats. Representative Maxine Waters could return as chair of the Financial Services Committee. Crypto-friendly Republicans such as Representative Bryan Steil of Wisconsin, who led the crypto subcommittee, were trailing in the count.
- Legislation: The Clarity Act, the major bill on crypto market structure, already failed this year. The Democrats who took part in the negotiations wanted tougher rules against illicit finance, more consumer protections and limits on government officials such as Mr. Trump participating in the industry. Those demands are likely to grow louder now.
The market does not see the situation as quite so dramatic, though. A Democratic-controlled Congress is generally viewed as less favorable for pro-crypto legislation, Mr. Lo said, but divided government also makes major, market-unfriendly policy shifts unlikely. Mr. Trump can still govern through executive orders and use his veto to block Democratic bills.
Fear and Greed Index: Fear
Despite the rebound, sentiment remains cautious. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index from Alternative.me stands at 34 on Wednesday, in “fear” territory. On Tuesday, it was as low as 26, and a week ago it stood at a neutral 51. The index combines factors such as volatility, trading volume, social media sentiment and bitcoin dominance into a single value between 0 (extreme fear) and 100 (extreme greed).
