CoinDesk 20 Index: 2,190.41 +9.66%
Bitcoin (BTC): $74,541.68 +8.34%
Ether (ETH): $2,635.55 +8.06%
S&P 500: 5,782.76 +1.23%
Gold: $2,704.50 -1.3%
Nikkei 225: 39,480.67 +2.61%

A message from Kraken

Bitcoin surpassed $75,000 during the early European morning as Donald Trump closed in on a return to the White House. The more pro-crypto candidate had claimed victories in swing states like North Carolina and Georgia, before Pennsylvania, viewed by many as the key to the election's outcome, moved in his favor as well. BTC was recently trading over $74,000, around 1.3% lower than its new all-time high of $75,363.66, according to Coindesk Indices data. The broader digital asset market, as measured by the CoinDesk 20 Index, is over 9% higher in the last 24 hours.

DOGE and SOL led gains among major tokens as the crypto market rallied while the election result was unfolding. Memecoin DOGE mushroomed over 25%, climbing to nearly $0.22. It remains nearly 20% higher in the last 24 hours, thanks in no small part to the support of Trump-endorsingElon Musk. The X owner and noted DOGE fan has proposed a Department of Government Efficiency — abbreviated as D.O.G.E; a clear nod to the token — as an agency that will make government spending and monetary planning more effective as part of the Republican campaign. SOL saw gains of nearly 20% to reach a high of $188.30 on the back of perceived hopes that a pro-crypto administration will make the approval of a Solana ETF more likely.

Crypto equities climbed by more than 10% in pre-market trading. MicroStrategy added 12%, approaching $255, just a few percentage points away from a record that would be almost 280% higher year-to-date. Coinbase is also 12% higher, approaching $220 a share. Bitcoin miners Riot, Marathon and IREN all gained more than 10%. Other notable mentions include Metaplanet which rose 24% and is now up over 1,100% year-to date. This comes after Semler Scientific saw a 30% increase in its share price yesterday, taking the shares to $39. André Dragosch, head of research in Europe at Bitwise, told CoinDesk that the initial stock-market reaction highlights the optimism that a more pro-crypto regime will provide the catalyst for a renewed bull run.

The widely watched ratio tracking the ETH/BTC ratio dropped to its lowest level since April 2021, suggesting a fallout in investor demand for ether.

The ether-bitcoin trading pair fell under 0.035 early Wednesday, extending year-to-date losses to more than 34%.

An increase indicates that ether is outperforming bitcoin and vice versa. When the price rises, traders consider a preference for ETH beneficial for riskier assets and Ethereum ecosystem bets. A slide indicates a preference for Bitcoin and blockchains other than Ethereum.

Over the past five years, the ratio has risen from 0.02 to a peak of above 0.08 in early 2022, meaning ETH quadrupled in value relative to BTC at the time. Since then, it's been on the decline. Even as BTC set a lifetime high earlier Wednesday, ether has yet to break through its high from 2021 and is down 46% from its peak.

Solana also flexed its muscles against ether. The token is up 10% in the past 24 hours, and also made new cycle highs against ether at 0.072. The Solana market cap dominance approached 3.70%, though it has yet to break into new all-time highs.

- Omkar Godbole