Bitcoin hit a new high above $109,000 and the US dollar fell on Monday, as investors consider the implications of a second Donald Trump presidency.
Stock futures rose, following gains in stock markets in Asia and Europe. At approximately 12:05 p.m. ET, shortly after Trump took office, contracts linked to the major indexes were up about 0.5%. U.S. stock and bond markets were closed Monday to commemorate Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Bitcoin soared to trade as high as $109,225, an intraday record, according to a CoinDesk index, before retreating. It traded below $105,000 shortly after Trump was sworn in.
Trump has positioned himself as a champion of cryptocurrencies and has promised measures such as establishing a bitcoin reserve in the United States. Since he was elected, bitcoin has risen more than 50%.
The president-elect and his wife, Melania, began selling new cryptocurrencies in recent days, meme coins called $TRUMP and $MELANIA. The projects quickly drew disapproval, with some critics saying the tokens create significant conflicts of interest.
Before the inauguration, The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump does not plan to impose tariffs on his first day in office, a scenario that many trading partners feared.
The dollar extended its losses, with the WSJ Dollar Index falling 0.8% to a near two-week low, while currencies of economies expected to be hit hard by the tariffs strengthened. Around midday, the British pound, the euro, the Mexican peso, the Canadian dollar and the offshore Chinese yuan had each gained 0.8% or more against the dollar.
Investors were bracing for Trump to issue a series of executive orders hours after taking office, covering border control, energy and government reforms.
“Once those executive orders start coming in and their implications are looked at, that’s where you’ll see the influence on the markets,” said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown.
That will likely keep asset prices volatile, Streeter said. “It could be that some of the worst fears do not materialize; On the other hand, there could be a movement that comes out of nowhere.”
U.S. stocks made big gains last week, following strong bank earnings and an inflation report that suggested underlying price pressures are easing. But many investors are bracing for potential turmoil, worried that Trump’s promised policies, including steep tariffs, could once again accelerate inflation, with far-reaching consequences for markets and Federal Reserve policy.