HONG KONG—Bitcoin was close to $73,000 in Asian trade Wednesday, approaching a record high with investors keeping a cautious eye on the US presidential election.
The leading digital currency was trading around $72,470 at 0800 GMT, after climbing as high as $73,563.63 in late US trade, just shy of its all-time peak of $73,797.98 in March.
The surge in the price of bitcoin is seen as a bet on a Republican victory, as Donald Trump has emerged as the pro-crypto candidate.
The price of bitcoin closely follows Trump’s standing in the polls because a Republican victory would lead to an increase in demand for the digital currency, said Russ Mould, an analyst at AJ Bell.
During his presidency Trump referred to cryptocurrencies as a scam, but has since radically changed his position, presenting himself as a “pro-bitcoin president” if elected and even launching his own crypto platform.
With the uncertainty surrounding the very tight US election, safe-haven gold also reached a record high of $2,787.07 on Wednesday.
