The oldest and best-known cryptocurrency, bitcoin, traded at well over $80,000 (€75,110) at the start of this week, reaching a new high. The record rally began on November 4 after Republican candidate Donald Trump was elected the next US president.

Jonas Groß, chairman of the Digital Euro Association — an organization that promotes digital payment systems — says Trump has declared himself to be the "crypto president" who will "lead the US to a pioneering role in bitcoin." Such promises have been made so far only by presidents of smaller countries, like [President Nayib Bukele of] El Salvador, Groß told DW. "It's no surprise that the crypto community is celebrating."

Though Trump had previously harbored a negative opinion about the cryptocurrency, he suddenly made a U-turn during the 2024 election campaign. At a major bitcoin conference in Nashville, for example, he promised to keep the crypto market largely unregulated and to make energy cheaper for the power-hungry mining of cryptocurrencies.

Generating new bitcoins and maintaining the so-called blockchain network on which all transactions are recorded requires significant energy.

Co-Pierre Georg, director of........

© Deutsche Welle