Bitcoin gains as Trump reportedly plans crypto executive order

Bitcoin rejoined the crypto rally on Friday amid reports that President-elect Donald Trump could release an executive order making crypto a national priority as soon as day 1 of his new term.

The price of the flagship cryptocurrency was last higher by more than 2% at $103,174.90, according to Coin Metrics. The broader crypto market, as measured by the CoinDesk 20 index, was up another 1%, after a 4% increase Thursday.

Shares of exchange operators Coinbase and Robinhood advanced about 5% each. Trading activity in small cap cryptocurrencies benefits trading platforms. Appetite for smaller cap, higher risk coins has grown ahead of Trump’s inauguration, with litecoin surging 26% in the past two days.

The moves follow a Bloomberg report late Thursday that Trump could create the crypto advisory council he previously promised, giving the industry a voice within his administration. A bitcoin stockpile is part of discussions about a possible executive order that would cover several areas of crypto policy, the New York Times reported the same day.

Coins and crypto projects outside of bitcoin arguably stand to gain more from clear and supportive policy and regulation as they’ve been more of a target of SEC lawsuits and alleged banking discrimination under the Biden administration. Some investors say bitcoin could see a rocket ship rally, however, if a national stockpile or reserve is established.

Bitcoin has been trading closely with stocks so far this year. It’s been in consolidation mode since late December, when Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell sounded an inflation alarm that subsided this week after two cool December inflation reports. Bitcoin ETFs have seen more than $1 billion in inflows in the past two days.

Investors expect any announcements from the incoming administration next week to send bitcoin higher – potentially to a new record. Heightened expectations come after warnings from Wall Street this month that although having a pro-crypto Congress and White House in 2025 is sure to be supportive for innovation in the industry and asset class, it could take a while before the market feels the impact.

“The new administration and a new SEC chairman opens the door for new opportunity in cryptocurrency innovation,” JPMorgan analyst Kenneth Worthington said in a note this week. However, he added, “we don’t see a next wave of cryptocurrency [exchange-traded product] launches as being meaningful for the crypto ecosystem given much smaller market capitalization of other tokens and far lower investor interest.”

Bitcoin’s record is $108,327.01, from Dec. 17. It’s up 9% in 2025.