Bitcoin hits US$60,000 as Trump shooting boosts re-election odds

BITCOIN rose above US$60,000 after Donald Trump’s defiant response to an assassination attempt spurred speculation that his chances of winning the presidential election have climbed.

The former president, who has positioned himself as pro-crypto, said he was shot in the right ear after gunfire erupted at his political rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday. His campaign said he was “fine” after the incident and looking forward to going to the Republican National Convention that begins on Monday in Milwaukee. 

Trump’s chances of becoming president again increased after today’s developments, according to PredictIt data. Images of a defiant Trump – with his fist raised over his head and his bloody right ear, and the American flag waving in the background – are blazing across social media and television after the attack. 

President Joe Biden said he is glad Trump is safe and condemned the violence.

Markets are likely to respond with higher volatility, and could repeat the trades employed when last month’s debate played out favorably to Trump. In that case, the US dollar gained and Treasury yields climbed.

Bitcoin rose as much as 2.7 per cent to US$60,160.71 as at 1.05 am in New York (1.05 pm SGT). The most-traded crypto token had stabilised in recent days on optimism that exchange-traded funds from titans including BlackRock and Fidelity Investments offer the type of bedrock demand that can temper price swings.