BTC Inches Closer to $70,000 after Trump Says ‘Never Sell Your Bitcoin’

Trump asserted that he would fire SEC chair Gensler and ensure the federal government retains its Bitcoin holdings if he is re-elected.

Crypto markets surged on Monday after former U.S. President Donald Trump vowed to fire Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chairman Gary Gensler and never sell the government’s Bitcoin holdings.

“I will fire Gary Gensler on Day One,” Trump said on Saturday at the Bitcoin2024 conference held in Nashville, Tennessee. “I didn’t know he was so disliked.”

Ethereum (ETH) rose 4% to $3,379, and Bitcoin (BTC) jumped 3% to $69,696. Solana (SOL) and Polkadot (DOT) rallied 3% and 1%, respectively.

“For too long, our government has violated the cardinal rule that every Bitcoiner knows by heart: Never sell your Bitcoin,” Trump said. “I’m laying out my plan to ensure that the United States will be the crypto capital of the planet and the Bitcoin superpower of the world. We’ll get it done.”

Despite the positive price action for major cryptocurrencies, Trump-themed tokens are not performing well. The MAGA (TRUMP) token is down 20% in the last 30 days, while TREMP has shed nearly 35% of its market capitalization over the past month.

Michael van de Poppe, CEO of MN Trading, believes Bitcoin could reach all-time highs in the coming weeks.

“Bitcoin is back at $70,000! Donald Trump’s speech has provided a positive impact, through which Bitcoin might be facing an ATH test in the coming weeks,” he said. “As long as it stays above $60-62K, we’re in good territory for further continuation.”

“The options desk saw huge topside positioning by big funds for August 2 expiry throughout the week, in anticipation of a breakout move by Trump as well as dovish FOMC next Tuesday,” QCP Capital noted.

Bitcoin futures’ open interest has reached a new all-time high. Open interest, which tracks the total number of open positions, has hit $39.70 billion across all exchanges, surpassing the previous high of $39.03 billion on March 29, 2024, according to CoinGlass.

Stock Futures Rise Ahead of Fed

U.S. stock futures rose on Monday. Dow futures rose 0.4%, while S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 0.5% and 0.6%, respectively.

A key focus this week will be the Federal Reserve meeting. The U.S. central bank is set to release a new policy statement on Wednesday. While the Fed is not anticipated to cut interest rates this week, traders will be looking for any hints about potential future actions.