Investing.com-- Bitcoin’s price rose slightly on Thursday and was headed for strong weekly gains as speculation over a potential Donald Trump victory in the upcoming presidential elections boosted prices.
The world’s biggest cryptocurrency hit its highest level since late-July earlier this week amid a storm of positive factors, although gains now appeared to be cooling.
Bitcoin rose 0.7% to $67,733.1 by 00:59 ET (04:59 GMT), having briefly crossed $68,000 earlier this week.
Bitcoin heads for weekly gains
The token was trading up more than 7% this week, its best performance since early-September.
Bitcoin was boosted by a storm of factors, including increased speculation over a Trump victory, while Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris also pledged to create a regulatory framework for crypto.
Additionally, sentiment towards Bitcoin was buoyed by defunct exchange Mt Gox extending its timeline to return tokens to creditors by a year. Bitcoin distributions by Mt Gox- which began in July- were expected to present a major selling scenario for the token.
Capital flows into crypto investment products were also seen improving in the past week.
Trump victory bets boost crypto
Bitcoin was boosted by increased expectations of a Trump victory in the upcoming elections. Trump was seen gaining substantially better odds in online prediction and betting markets such as Polymarket, while a recent Fox News poll also showed him with a slight edge over Vice President Harris.
Other polls, such as a recent survey from Reuters/IPSOS, showed Harris with a slight lead over Trump, while most polls pointed to a tight race.
Crypto markets welcomed the prospect of a Trump victory, given that he has been largely pro-crypto in campaigning, even promising to build the future of Bitcoin in America.
Promises of a regulatory framework from Harris also boosted sentiment, although she did not provide more clarity on the plans.
Crypto price today: altcoins lose steam
While Bitcoin was positive, other major cryptos were seen losing steam after recent gains.
World no.2 crypto Ether fell 0.4% to $2,618.86, but was trading up 5.7% for the week.
XRP, SOL, MATIC and ADA fell between 0.4% and 4%, but were also trading up for the week.
Among meme tokens, DOGE rose 6.8%.