In mid-October 2024, Bitcoin (BTC) danced tantalizingly close to the $70,000 mark, a psychological milestone that electrified the crypto community just 15 days before the U.S. presidential election on November 5. An X post from @TheCryptoProfes on October 21 captured the buzz: “BTC pushing $70K—election fever’s kicking in.” By October 20, CoinGecko data pegged BTC at $69,800, up 8% from the month’s start—a rally fueled by political uncertainty, institutional momentum, and Donald Trump’s unexpected emergence as crypto’s loudest cheerleader. After years of dismissing Bitcoin as a “scam” in 2021, Trump had flipped the script, promising at the Bitcoin 2024 Conference in July to establish a U.S. strategic reserve if re-elected. By October, that pledge was a campaign cornerstone.
Trump’s pivot wasn’t subtle. Posts on Truth Social teased a “crypto-friendly administration,” while his team courted endorsements from industry heavyweights like the Winklevoss twins. “America will be the crypto capital,” he declared at a Nashville rally on October 18, words that sent BTC spiking 3% overnight. The market smelled opportunity—or chaos. Crypto firms had dumped over $134 million into the 2024 election cycle, per a Center for Political Accountability report, aiming to secure a regulatory overhaul. “Bitcoin’s price is a political barometer now,” said Kyle Torpey, a veteran crypto analyst. “Trump’s rhetoric is jet fuel—win or lose, it’s moving the needle.”
The surge had legs beyond election hype. Spot Bitcoin ETFs, greenlit by the SEC in January 2024, saw $1.2 billion in inflows during October’s first two weeks, per Bloomberg data. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) hit a jaw-dropping milestone, surpassing its gold ETF’s assets under management—a symbolic victory for BTC’s “digital gold” narrative. “Institutions are all-in,” said Sarah Tran of Coinpedia. “This isn’t retail FOMO—it’s Wall Street piling on.” Grayscale’s GBTC, despite earlier outflows, stabilized, adding $200 million in October as investors bet on a post-election boom.
Yet, the rally teetered on a knife’s edge. “We’re riding sentiment, not fundamentals,” Tran cautioned. “If Trump loses, we could see $60,000 by Thanksgiving.” The Harris campaign, by contrast, offered vague nods to “blockchain innovation” but stopped short of BTC-specific promises, leaving crypto voters leaning red. On X, sentiment split hard: “$70K by Halloween—Trump’s our guy,” one user crowed, while another countered, “Election pumps fade fast—sell the news.” Volatility was baked in—BTC’s 30-day realized volatility hit 45%, double its summer low, per Glassnode.
The Federal Reserve’s October 30 meeting loomed as another wildcard. Futures markets pegged rate-cut odds at 50-50, and Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s hawkish June comments—“inflation’s sticky”—echoed in traders’ minds. “A rate pause could kneecap this rally,” said Ben Brauser of Bitget Research. “Liquidity’s the lifeblood.” Still, BTC’s 2024 performance—up 110% year-to-date—kept bulls defiant. “We’ve doubled in a year,” one X user posted. “$70K’s just the appetizer.”
Retail traders piled in, too. Coinbase reported a 15% spike in new accounts by October 25, while Binance saw BTC futures open interest hit $20 billion. “Election season’s our Super Bowl,” a Coinbase spokesperson quipped. Altcoins rode the wave—Ethereum (ETH) touched $2,800, up 6%, while Solana (SOL) gained 10%. But the spotlight stayed on BTC, a barometer of crypto’s political clout. “October 2024 was when crypto went from fringe to power player,” Torpey reflected. “Win or lose, Trump made it mainstream.”
