Bitcoin approaches $100,000 on optimism

Bitcoin came within a whisker of closing above $100,000 for the first time on Thursday as the election of Republican Donald Trump as US president spurred expectations that his administration will create a friendly regulatory environment for cryptocurrencies.

The world's largest cryptocurrency was trading between $98,000 and $99,000 in late afternoon trading in the US on Thursday, after briefly touching $99,073. Bitcoin has more than doubled in value this year and is up about 40% in the two weeks since Trump was voted in as the next US president and a slew of pro-crypto lawmakers were elected to Congress.

Trump embraced digital assets during his campaign, promising to make the United States the "crypto capital of the planet" and to accumulate a national stockpile of bitcoin.

Crypto investors see an end to increased scrutiny under US Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler, whom Trump has said he will replace.

Trump also unveiled a new crypto business, World Liberty Financial, in September. Although details about the business have been scarce, investors have taken his personal interest in the sector as a bullish signal. Billionaire Elon Musk, a major Trump ally, is also a proponent of cryptocurrencies.

Over 16 years after its creation, bitcoin appears on the cusp of mainstream acceptance. "Everyone, who's bought bitcoin at any point in history, is currently in profit," Alicia Kao, managing director of crypto exchange KuCoin, said.

"But those who bought it early, when there were significant obstacles to doing so and there was the might of the world's financial and governmental forces intent on crushing it, are the real winners. Not because they're rich, but because they're right."