With just four days to go until the US presidential election, crypto enthusiasts are hoping that a victory for their preferred candidate will lead to a higher Bitcoin (BTC) price.
From a crypto-enthusiast perspective, the 2024 US presidential elections are unlike any other as both candidates recognize the rising importance of digital assets.
While a win for Republican candidate Donald Trump is seen as beneficial for the crypto industry, Democratic candidate Kamala Harris has pledged a fresh approach to digital assets, contrasting with the Biden administration’s perceived hostility.
Both the candidates are trying to court the ‘crypto voting bloc’ – a significant proportion of voters are more likely to support a candidate with a pro-crypto stance.
Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan mentioned in a recent interview with Yahoo! Finance that the most crucial outcome for BTC is simply that “the elections happen.”
Hougan stressed that regardless of a Trump or Harris win, the regulatory environment for crypto is witnessing steady improvement. He attributed the recent positive movement in digital asset prices to a maturing regulatory framework.
The Bitwise CIO mentioned that although, in the short-term, the crypto market favors a Trump victory over a Harris victory, Bitcoin “really does not need Washington to succeed.”
The crypto executive added that regardless of the election results, institutional investment in the digital assets space is on the rise, which is evident from the strong Bitcoin spot exchange-traded funds (ETF) inflows in recent days.
When asked about regulatory clarity’s role in crypto, Hougan pointed out that it impacts altcoins more than BTC. He anticipates a greater chance of an altcoin rally than a BTC rally if Trump wins. Hougan added:
This is the best single time to invest in Bitcoin from a risk-adjusted perspective. All of the major existential risks of Bitcoin have been washed away. We have an ETF, we have institutions. They are coming into the space. The biggest catalyst is that move of institutional adoption.
Although BTC is trading very close to its all-time high (ATH) price of $73,737, it has yet to touch the March 2024 price level.
Rising geopolitical tensions worldwide add to the volatility of an already volatile asset, which may discourage the more risk-averse investors from buying more BTC.
However, the existing macroeconomic uncertainties are not deterring crypto analysts from sharing their ambitious price targets for the top cryptocurrency.
Recently, analysts at trading firm Bernstein predicted that a $200,000 BTC by 2025 end might be a conservative target.
That said, weekly charts show BTC attempting several runs past its ATH, only to drop each time. At the time of writing, BTC is trading at $70,840, approximately 4% below its ATH.