Bitcoin brushes $85,000 in new all-time high

Bitcoin keeps soaring in the wake of Donald Trump’s election victory alongside those of a new cohort of Congressional candidates who share his pro-crypto views. Since election night, the original cryptocurrency has climbed from around $70,000 to just short of $85,000 on mid-day Monday.

Bitcoin is now the ninth-largest financial asset by market cap, eclipsing famous names like Meta and Tesla .

The bull run appears to validate the crypto industry’s decision to pour more than $100 million into electoral politics as, alongside Trump, there are now poised to be over 280 pro-crypto candidates in the next Congress.

In one significant race, the crypto industry successfully helped defeat Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown, a high-profile critic and chair of the powerful Banking Committee, and replace him with blockchain entrepreneur Bernie Moreno.

All of this puts President-elect Trump in a strong position to act on his campaign promises, which include firing Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler, and exploring a U.S. strategic Bitcoin reserve.

The current rally has lifted other currencies alongside Bitcoin. Dogecoin, in particular, has benefited greatly from the election results, surging 101% in the last week as tech billionaire Elon Musk — who is often associated with the memecoin and has become one of Trump’s closest allies — secures a spot in the president-elect’s orbit.

The rest of the crypto market is up too, with the industry’s market cap growing from 2.23 trillion to 2.86 trillion since last Tuesday. Solana and Ethereum have seen major gains, both growing over 36% in the last week. XRP is also up 16%.

Other Bitcoin-related stocks like Microstrategy and Coinbase are benefiting from the currency’s growth as well.