The recent surge in cryptocurrency enthusiasm follows Donald Trump’s election victory, which has sparked a wave of optimism across South African exchanges.
Trading volumes have skyrocketed since early November 2024, with Bitcoin briefly touching R1.7 million before settling at R1.63 million on November 18 2024, nearly double its price from late October 2024.
Bitcoin’s price also soared past $94,000, over 30% increase from its previous all-time high of $71,000 in June 2024.
MILESTONE | #Bitcoin Hits $94,000 in Latest All Time High with $100k Expected By Year’s End
Bitcoin’s previous all-time high came less than a week ago, reaching $93,477 but it soon dropped to $87,300 within 24 hours. https://t.co/WAGREgJ7LZ pic.twitter.com/NWC8bYDq00
— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) November 20, 2024
Trump has pledged to make the U.S a crypto hub, generating hopes of clearer regulations that could benefit traditional finance firms and cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Richard de Sousa, CEO of AltcoinTrader, a South African crypto exchange, reports surging trading volumes saying:
“We’ve seen a massive increase in trading volumes since Trump won the US election, anything between 200% and 400% depending on the coin.
We know the other exchanges in SA have seen similar increases in volumes.”
Similar trends have been reported across other South African exchanges.
The rise in trading is particularly noticeable in Bitcoin and the U.S dollar-backed stablecoin, Tether, which has become a popular store of value.
“Tether has become the dominant trading pair on trading exchanges. Everyone’s buying. It’s crazy,” adds De Sousa.
[Q&A] $USDT is Extremely Popular in Emerging Markets like Africa – A Chat with Chief Technology Officer, Tether
BitKE got an exclusive chat with Paolo Ardoino, the Chief Technology Officer at @Tether_to, the leading stablecoin in the worldhttps://t.co/w53pHUXVic pic.twitter.com/9x221zsyB4
— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) March 3, 2023
MemeCoin Dogecoin has also seen a massive increase in trading, with volumes jumping more than 130% amid Elon Musk’s continued promotion of the coin.
Christo de Wit, Luno SA’s Country Manager, notes that volumes have surpassed previous records set in March 2024, saying:
“What a time for crypto. It’s been a tremendous two weeks with excitement on the price movements [of cryptos].
We’ve experienced significant volume on our platform, surpassing the levels previously experienced in March 2024 when BTC reached its previous all-time high.
Exchange volume has more than doubled, and we are continuing to see increased volume on Luno.”
VALR CEO, Farzam Ehsani, also points to growing interest from corporations and nations exploring Bitcoin as part of their portfolios.
“Many more corporates and sovereign states are rethinking their portfolio allocation, particularly with the U.S speaking about a strategic bitcoin reserve.”
VALR recently crossed one million users, doubling its user base in 2024 alone, largely influenced by the ongoing bull run.
🇿🇦MILESTONE | South African Leading Crypto Exchange, VALR, Doubles User Base in 2024 Surpassing 1 Million Users
VALR has added 500,000 users to its platform in 2024 alone with 1 in 4 users coming from outside South Africahttps://t.co/kwP7kvgAbf @VALRdotcom @farzamehsani pic.twitter.com/86qI1eMQde
— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) November 14, 2024
Trump’s stance on Bitcoin, including a potential strategic bitcoin reserve, is fueling additional momentum.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin’s rise is pushing traditional financial institutions to reconsider their stance on the cryptocurrency. The surge has also bolstered altcoins, with Ethereum nearing its all-time high. As market sentiment reaches ‘Extreme Greed,’ fewer Bitcoin holders are willing to sell, signaling growing confidence in the market.
There is now ‘Extreme Greed’ following the new #Bitcoin $95K all-time high. $BTC https://t.co/oWs4F5PrL6 pic.twitter.com/qZCwrcU1y0
— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) November 21, 2024
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