(Dec 9): Almost US$10 billion (RM44.25 billion) has poured into US exchange-traded funds (ETFs) investing directly in bitcoin since Donald Trump became president-elect, in a bet that his embrace of the crypto sector heralds a boom for the market.

The dozen funds from issuers including BlackRock Inc and Fidelity Investments have attracted about US$9.9 billion of net inflows in the period following election day on Nov 5, helping to lift the group’s total assets to approximately US$113 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The president-elect last week picked a digital-asset supporter to be the next head of the US securities regulator, and named the first-ever White House czar for artificial intelligence and crypto. 

Trump has vowed to replace Biden administration skepticism about digital assets with supportive rules, and even backed the idea of a strategic national bitcoin reserve. The Republican used to be a crypto skeptic but pivoted as the industry unleashed an election campaign war chest to promote its interests.

Bitcoin topped US$100,000 for the first time on Dec 5 and traded at US$98,860 as of 11:55am Monday in Singapore. The token’s six-week streak of gains through Sunday is the longest such run since the crypto frenzy of 2021.

Volatility swept across bitcoin a day after the token achieved the landmark six-figure level. The swings briefly drove the largest digital asset down towards US$92,000, a drop that sowed some caution over the immediate outlook.

A “sustained and decided” push past US$100,000 may require further positive catalysts to materialise, David Lawant, head of research at crypto prime broker FalconX, wrote in a note.

US regulators have also permitted spot-ether ETFs, a group of nine funds that lured almost US$2 billion of net subscriptions in the wake of Trump’s election win. Ether, the second-ranked token, has outperformed bitcoin of late.

Uploaded by Liza Shireen Koshy