Bitcoin Blasts Past $76K for First Time as Violent Crypto Rally Liquidates Nearly $400M Shorts

Crypto exchange Coinbase's shares closed the day 31% higher, leading gains among digital asset-related stocks.

Crypto assets kept climbing higher Wednesday after Donald Trump won the U.S. presidency, with bitcoin (BTC) blasting through $76,000 for the first time ever amid optimism the election will usher in a far friendlier environment for digital assets in the world's largest economy.

Bitcoin (BTC) hit a fresh record high of $76,330 during the U.S. day and is up 9.5% over the past 24 hours. Ethereum's ether (ETH) surged to just shy of the $2,700 level, up 11% during the same period. The broad-market CoinDesk 20 Index advanced 10.7%, led by gains of decentralized exchange Uniswap (UNI), layer-1 blockchain Solana (SOL) and decentralized GPU rendering platform Render (RNDR).

The violent crypto rally triggered $592 million in liquidations of leveraged derivatives trading positions across all crypto assets during the day, CoinGlass data shows. The majority, some $390 million of the liquidations were leveraged shorts betting on lower prices, making the largest short squeeze in at least the past six months.

Crypto stocks also joined the rally, led by crypto exchange Coinbase's (COIN) 31% advance. Bitcoin miners Riot Platforms (RIOT), TeraWulf (WULF) and CleanSpark (CLSK) were up 20%-25%, too.

The action happened amid a risk-on day with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 climbing 3% and 2.5%, respectively, following Trump's decisive win in the U.S. elections. Bettors on blockchain-based prediction venue Polymarket project that Republicans are poised to clinch both houses of Congress, a result that observers see as even more bullish for the crypto industry.

"It's hard to think how the election outcome could have landed better for the industry, and expectations of key regulatory improvements are likely to build in the coming months and quarters," David Lawant, head of research at crypto prime brokerage FalconX, said in a Wednesday report. "Such clarity could open room for additional crypto ETF products, covering the main crypto assets and potentially also a broader crypto index, and give entrepreneurs and investors more comfort in U.S. token launches." However, Lawant warned of short-term risks in the meanwhile, which may include "last-minute enforcement actions by departing officials."

Bitcoin's new record high marks a decisive breakout from its grueling, eight-month consolidation phase, which tested crypto investors' patience. Analysts say the leading crypto asset may have more room to run.

"Every way I look at bitcoin here after the election, there just are no more excuses or reasons left for why it doesn't full send over the next 9-12 months," well-followed cross-asset trader Bob Loukas said in an X post.

With the election over, the next key event to watch is Thursday's Federal Open Market Committee meeting, where market participants near-universally expect policymakers to lower Fed fund rates by 25 basis points, per the CME FedWatch Tool.