On Monday, cryptocurrencies and related concept stocks saw widespread gains. Bitcoin and Ethereum rose by at least 6%. $Bitcoin (BTC.CC)$'s intraday increase reached 6%, hitting a two-week high of $66,479. $Ethereum (ETH.CC)$ climbed roughly 6%, approaching its September 27 high of $2,728 and August 3 high of $3,019. All other top 10 cryptocurrencies by market cap also recorded gains across the board.
On the news front, U.S. presidential candidate and current Vice President Kamala Harris pledged support for a regulatory framework for digital currencies, providing a boost to cryptocurrency performance on Monday. The positive impact of Harris's statement on market sentiment was already evident during Asian trading hours.
According to a press release:
"Vice President Harris knows that over 20% of African Americans own or have owned cryptocurrency assets, which is why her plan will ensure that digital asset owners and investors can benefit from a regulatory framework that protects Black men and other groups participating in this market."
For years, individuals in the cryptocurrency sector have complained that U.S. officials chose to regulate through enforcement rather than providing clear regulations. Harris's latest commitment can be seen as a response to the digital currency industry.
In late September, Harris also expressed support for cryptocurrency investment. She publicly stated that if elected, she would support increased investment in artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency industries.
Meanwhile, U.S. presidential candidate and former President Trump is actively courting cryptocurrency voters in the 2024 presidential race and has several cryptocurrency-related plans.
Analysts believe that this cryptocurrency surge is primarily driven by the U.S. election, initially from Trump's lead in prediction markets and polls, followed by semi-supportive comments from Harris's campaign team regarding the digital currency market. Although specific details of Harris's cryptocurrency policy haven't been seen yet, it sounds less negative than the Biden administration's stance.
Over the past few days, market predictions for the U.S. election have reversed, with Trump's chances of winning now estimated to be higher than Harris's.
News also indicates that the bankrupt Mt. Gox cryptocurrency exchange last week postponed the deadline for creditor repayment of remaining assets by one year to October 31, 2025. Arkham Intelligence estimates the value of related assets at about $2.9 billion. This delay alleviates concerns about potential oversupply from creditors selling returned bitcoins.
On Monday, most digital currency-related ETFs and concept stocks also rose. The double-leveraged long Bitcoin ETF increased by approximately 9%. Bitcoin miner $CleanSpark (CLSK.US)$ surged over 12%, while miner $MARA Holdings (MARA.US)$ rose 5.6%. Digital currency exchange $Coinbase (COIN.US)$ saw a significant increase of 11%.$MicroStrategy (MSTR.US)$ , which had soared nearly 16% last Friday, initially continued to rise in early trading on Monday, but turned negative by the close of the market.
Bitcoin had a weak start in October, but has now reversed this downward trend. Looking at the past decade, October has been a strong month for Bitcoin performance, with an average increase of 20% during this month. Industry insiders point out that historical data shows the seasonal strength of the cryptocurrency market in October typically concentrates in the latter half of the month.
