Bitcoin closes in on $100,000 mark

LONDON: Bitcoin's march toward $100,000 gathered pace on Thursday as investors bet a friendlier US regulatory approach to cryptocurrencies under President-elect Donald Trump will unleash a boom era for the asset class.

Bitcoin prices topped $98,000 for first time in European trading, and were last up around 4% on the day. The cryptocurrency's price has more than doubled this year and is up about 40% in the two weeks since Trump was voted in as the next US president and a slew of pro-crypto lawmakers were elected to Congress.

"While it's now firmly into overbought territory, it is being drawn toward the $100k level," said IG Markets analyst Tony Sycamore. Trump embraced digital assets during his campaign, promising to make the United States the "crypto capital of the planet" and to accumulate a national stockpile of bitcoin.

More than $4 billion has streamed into US listed bitcoin exchange-traded funds since the election. This week, there was a strong debut for options on BlackRock's ETF, with call options - bets on the price going up - more popular than puts.

Crypto-related stocks have soared along with the bitcoin price.