Bitcoin, the crypto industry’s current leader may fall in the grasp of market forces reacting to the 2020 U.S. Presidential elections on November 3th.
Bitcoin’s price soared 30% in October and its momentum was fueled by a bullish sentiment and wave of good news not seen since December 2017’s Bitcoin craze.
However, Bitcoin may fall a victim to the outcome of the 2020 U.S. Presidential elections, as candidates Joe Biden and Donald Trump enter the final stage of their campaigns. According to various surveys, Democratic challenger Joe Biden has a slight lead over current President Donald Trump.
The final presidential push puts enormous stress on the global markets, with traders and investors on the edge, awaiting another soar or a drastic fall of the world’s largest cryptocurrency.
Bitcoin, on the other hand, broke from its relation with global equity markets, as Dow Jones Industrial Average managed to close with a weekly and monthly low since the March 2019 COVID-19 crisis. Bitcoin jumped 5% during the past week, with bullish sentiment not seen since the 2017 bull run, which skyrocketed Bitcoin to an all-time high of over $20,000.
"A Trump win will probably be welcomed by the stock market players and Bitcoin will keep on growing along with other assets," Anatoliy Knyazev, executive director at brokerage Exante noted.
"However, a Biden win, which may lead to a stock market fall, could also work in Bitcoin’s favor based on the expectation of the depreciation of the dollar."
Many Bitcoin investors and traders are again raising Bitcoin as a so-called safe-haven asset in times of increased uncertainty and risk. The safe-haven aspect may indicate a price boost for Bitcoin, despite the outcome of the presidential elections.
Nigel Green, the Chief Executive of deVere Group noted that "markets loathe uncertainty, so in the event of a contested result, safe-haven assets will get a boost–especially non-sovereign classes such as gold and Bitcoin.”
Most crypto enthusiasts also consider that a potential win for Biden could result in a leap for Bitcoin. Wall Street veteran Max Kreiser predicted that Bitcoin would “bolt higher” if Biden wins, due to fears that a Biden-run administration would start confiscating “everything”. However, Keiser noted that if Trump wins, Bitcoin’s price would still go up, but much slower, thanks to “an orderly transition to Bitcoin.”
Jeff Dorman, Chief Investment Officer at cryptocurrency hedge fund Arca stated that "investors just want to know that there's a winner." According to Dorman, a Biden victory would mean increased government spending, which would be better for Bitcoin and Gold.
"I would say Democrats are better for inflation hedges, but as long as there's a clear winner at some point, everything's going higher", he added.