CoinMarketCap data shows that Bitcoin’s (BTC) price approached $70,000 on Monday, reaching a six-week high following former U.S. President Donald Trump’s renewed support for cryptocurrency over the weekend.

At the time of reporting, the leading cryptocurrency was trading around $69,800, showing a 3.32% increase in 24 hours. Ethereum (ETH) also saw gains, up 4.28% at $3,350, while Solana (SOL) rose 5.9% to approximately $193 over the same period.

Justin d’Anethan from Keyrock attributed the positive market sentiment to recent supportive statements from politicians and economic figures. He told The Block:

The current positive statement regarding crypto from many politicians and economic stakeholders is bolstering investor sentiment. […] In Nashville, the Bitcoin conference has been a long stream of respected speakers talking about the importance of crypto and the potential for further allocations to BTC — which of course many traders want to believe in and front run.

Is the U.S. building a ‘strategic Bitcoin reserve’?

At the conference, Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, promised to establish a “strategic Bitcoin reserve” if elected in November and to halt U.S. sales of existing holdings. Rumors about this announcement started spreading just shy of a week ago. He also stated his intention to remove SEC Chair Gary Gensler from office.

Senator Cynthia Lummis recently revealed plans to introduce legislation directing the U.S. Treasury to acquire 1 million BTC (worth approximately $68 billion) over five years. The proposed bill would have the Treasury self-custody these assets across various locations for at least two decades.

D’Anethan also suggested that expectations of a Republican victory in the upcoming elections are fueling beliefs in a more accommodative monetary policy and business-friendly administration. Peter Chung of Presto told The Block the increasing importance of following U.S. election developments until November. He added:

Short-term speculators’ position leading up to the Trump speech was liquidated when the market briefly tanked on ‘sell-the-news’ move during the speech, as evidenced in the large liquidation at futures markets. As a result, the short-term speculative positions are now swapped to long-term investors who understand the significance of the changes taking place in U.S. politics with regard to Bitcoin.

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