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Bitcoin rose above $100,000 for the first time on Thursday as the election of Republican Donald Trump as president of the United States spurred expectations that his administration will create a friendly regulatory environment for cryptocurrencies.

Bitcoin has more than doubled in value this year and is up about 45% in the four weeks since Trump’s sweeping election victory, which also saw a slew of pro-crypto lawmakers being elected to Congress.

It last traded at $100,027 as of 0240 GMT, up 2.2% on the previous session, after earlier rising as high as $100,277.

“We’re witnessing a paradigm shift. After four years of political purgatory, bitcoin and the entire digital asset ecosystem are on the brink of entering the financial mainstream,” said Mike Novogratz, founder and CEO of US crypto firm Galaxy Digital.

“This momentum is fueled by institutional adoption, advancements in tokenization and payments, and a clearer regulatory path.”

More than 16 years after its creation, bitcoin appears on the cusp of mainstream acceptance, despite naysayers and a history of controversies.

“Bitcoin crossing $100,000 is more than just a milestone; it’s a testament to shifting tides in finance, technology, and geopolitics,” said Justin D’Anethan, a Hong Kong-based independent crypto analyst.

“The figure not that long ago dismissed as fantasy, stands as a reality.”

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.

Crypto investors see an end to increased scrutiny under US Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler, who said last week he wouldstep downin January when Trump takes office.

On Wednesday, Trump said he would nominate Paul Atkins to run the Securities and Exchange Commission. Atkins, a former SEC commissioner, has been involved in crypto policy as co-chair of the Token Alliance, which works to “develop best practices for digital asset issuances and trading platforms,” and the Chamber of Digital Commerce.

A slew of crypto companies including Ripple, Kraken and Circle arejostlingfor a seat on Trump’s promised crypto advisory council, seeking a say in his planned overhaul of US policy, according to several digital asset industry executives.

Trump’s businesses may also have a stake in the sector.

He unveiled a new crypto business, World Liberty Financial, in September.

Although details about the business have been scarce, investors have taken his personal interest in the sector as a bullish signal.

Trump’s social media company is inadvanced talksto buy crypto trading firm Bakkt, the Financial Times reported last week, citing two people with knowledge of the talks.

Trump Media and Technology Group, which operates Truth Social, is close to an all-stock acquisition of Bakkt, according to the FT report.

Billionaire Elon Musk, a major Trump ally, is also a proponent of cryptocurrencies.

Bitcoin’s rebound from a slide below $16,000 in late 2022 has been rapid, boosted by the approval of US-listed bitcoin exchange-traded funds in January this year.

The Securities and Exchange Commission had long attempted to block ETFs from investing in bitcoin, citing investor protection concerns, but the products have allowed more investors, including institutional investors, to gain exposure to bitcoin.

More than $4 billion has streamed into US-listed bitcoin exchange-traded funds since the election.

“We were trading basically sideways for about seven months, then immediately after November 5, US investors resumed buying hand-over-fist,” said Joe McCann, CEO and founder of Asymmetric, a Miami digital assets hedge fund.

There was a strong debut for options on BlackRock’s ETF,in November with call options – bets on the price going up – substantially more popular than puts. McCann calculated the put to call ratio at about 22 to one.

Crypto-related stocks have soared along with the bitcoin price, with shares in bitcoin miner MARA Holdings,up around 65% in November.

Yet the rise is not without critics.

Two years ago, the industry was wracked by scandal with the collapse of the FTX crypto exchange and the jailing of its founder Sam Bankman-Fried.

The cryptocurrency industry also has been criticized for its massive energy usage, while crypto crime remains a concern, too.

Market participants are keeping a close eye on what happens now that bitcoin has broken above $100,000, with investors and speculators possibly looking to pocket some of their recent gains.

“But once we flush out those sell orders, this could go higher still, and very rapidly,” said Steven McClurg, founder of Canary Capital, a digital assets investment firm.

He said he expects bitcoin’s price to hit $120,000 by Christmas.

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Sources: Red Sox deal Devers to Giants in stunner

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Sources: Red Sox deal Devers to Giants in stunner

The San Francisco Giants are acquiring All-Star slugger Rafael Devers from the Boston Red Sox, sources confirmed to ESPN’s Jeff Passan on Sunday evening.

The Giants are sending starter Jordan Hicks and 23-year-old lefty Kyle Harrison, among others, to Boston in exchange, sources said.

Devers, 28, is in just the second season of a 10-year, $313.5 million contract he signed to stay in Boston in January 2023, however his relationship with the team suffered a significant blow after the star third baseman was reportedly blindsided by a move to designated hitter in the spring.

Tensions flared again last month after Devers refused an offer from the team to move him to first base after starting first baseman Triston Casas was ruled out for the season with a knee injury.

It reached a point where Red Sox owner John Henry met with the disgruntled star, making a rare trip to meet the team on the road and smooth things over after Devers’ pointed comments about the request to switch positions again.

Hicks and Harrison give a pitching-starved Red Sox team more depth on their staff while Devers provides a huge boost to a middling Giants offense.

Devers has more than 200 career home runs to his name and has a .894 OPS for Boston this season.

The deal was first reported by Fansided.

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Ohtani’s pitching return might be coming soon

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Ohtani's pitching return might be coming soon

Shohei Ohtani‘s pitching debut for the Los Angeles Dodgers might be quickly approaching.

Manager Dave Roberts told reporters Sunday that Ohtani would throw another simulated game in the coming days that could “potentially” be his last one, and a source told ESPN’s Buster Olney that Ohtani should join the Dodgers’ rotation “sooner rather than later,” potentially within the week.

Ohtani took a big step forward during his most recent simulated game at Petco Park on Tuesday, throwing 44 pitches over the course of three innings against a couple of lower-level minor league players. Ohtani’s fastball reached the mid- to upper-90s, and he exhibited good command of his off-speed pitches in what amounted to his third time facing hitters. Afterward, Roberts said there was a “north of zero” chance Ohtani could join the rotation before the All-Star break.

Because of his two-way designation, the Dodgers can carry Ohtani as an extra pitcher, which means he can throw two to three innings and have someone pitch after him as a piggyback starter. At this point, it seems that is the Dodgers’ plan.

The Dodgers’ pitching staff has again been plagued by injury, with 14 pitchers on the injured list, including four starting pitchers the team was heavily counting on for 2025 — Blake Snell, Tony Gonsolin, Roki Sasaki and Tyler Glasnow.

If Ohtani returns in July — the likely outcome at this point — he will be 22 months removed from a second repair of his ulnar collateral ligament.

The update isn’t as optimistic for Sasaki. He paused his throwing program and is set for a lengthy layoff. Sasaki has not pitched in a game since May 9 and is not part of the team’s long-term pitching plans this season.

“I think that’s what the mindset should be,” Roberts said. “Being thrust into this environment certainly was a big undertaking for him, and now you layer in the health part and the fact he’s a starting pitcher, knowing what the build-up [required to return] entails … I think that’s the prudent way to go about it.”

Sasaki, 23, went 1-1 with a 4.72 ERA in eight starts after joining the Dodgers from the Pacific League’s Chuba Lotte Marines, averaging less than 4⅓ innings per start. He walked 22 and struck out 24 in 34⅓ innings, and his fastball averaged 95.7 mph, down 3-4 mph from his average in Japan.

Roberts said Sasaki was pain free when he resumed throwing in early June, but the pitcher was shut down after feeling discomfort this past week. Sasaki recently received a cortisone injection in the shoulder; Roberts said no further scans are planned.

“I don’t think it’s pain,” Roberts said. “I don’t know if it’s discomfort, if it’s tightness, if he’s just not feeling strong, whatever the adjective you want to use. That’s more of a question for Roki, as far as the sensation he’s feeling.

“He’s just not feeling like he can ramp it up, and we’re not going to push him to do something he doesn’t feel good about right now.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Judge 1-for-12 as NY swept: Got to swing at strikes

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Judge 1-for-12 as NY swept: Got to swing at strikes

BOSTON — Aaron Judge blamed himself for swinging at pitches outside the strike zone as the New York Yankees were swept in a three-game series against the Boston Red Sox.

“You got to swing at strikes,” Judge said after going 1-for-12 in the series, which Boston completed with a 2-0 victory on Sunday.

Judge struck out three or more times in three straight games for only the third time in his major league career.

“That usually helps any hitter when you swing at strikes,” Judge added. “Definitely some pitches off the edge or off the edge in, you know, taking some hacks just trying to make something happen.”

Judge had a tying solo homer in the opener Friday night but struck out nine times as the Yankees were swept in a series for the first time this season.

New York scored only four runs in the three games, matching its fewest in a three-game series at Fenway Park, on June 20-22, 1916 and on Sept. 28-30, 1922.

“It’s very hard,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said of facing Judge. “He’s so good at what he does. We used our fastballs in the right spots, we got some swing and misses.”

“Throughout the years we’ve been aggressive with him,” Cora added. “Sometimes he gets us, sometimes we do a good job with that. It’s always fun to compete against the best, and, to me, he’s the best in the business right now.”

Judge’s major league-leading average dipped to .378.

“I don’t think much of it,” teammate Ben Rice said. “If I could have that guy hitting every single at-bat even if he’s not at his best, I would do it. I’m sure he’ll bounce back. He’ll be all right.”

Judge faced Garrett Whitlock with two on in the eighth Sunday and bounced into an inning-ending double play.

“He’s one of the greatest hitters in the world,” Whitlock said. “It’s special to watch him play and everything. We tried to execute and had some execution this weekend.”

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