Bitcoin soared to over $100,000 per coin on Wednesday after President-elect Trump announced he would nominate crypto enthusiast Paul Atkins to head the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC). .
google valued the coin at USD 102,726 later in the day, with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 markets also measuring gains. The digital currency has been swinging near six-digit margins for days as President Trump begins enacting his plan to make America the “crypto capital of the planet.”
The former president is ramping up his evolving platform amid the threat of a new monetary system seeking to challenge the U.S. dollar.
However, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the platform should be comparable to gold, not traditional money.
“People are using Bitcoin as a speculative asset. Bitcoin is like gold, just like gold, only digital. People are using Bitcoin as a means of payment and a store of value,” he said. “I'm not using it as a service,” he told the audience. New York Times Dealbook Summit.
“It's very volatile. It's not a competitor to the dollar, it's a competitor to gold. That's exactly how I see it.”
Only about 20 million Bitcoins were ever created, which is one of the reasons why Bitcoin is so valuable. Traders can invest in different brands of cryptocurrencies and transfer ownership of digital assets through each coin's unique ticker symbol and private key.
As SEC Chairman, Mr. Atkins will oversee investments, trading, and regulate market share. Cryptocurrency investors are watching to see how he reshapes the law for an uncharted digital environment.
