Why Altcoins Were Rocketing Higher Today

With news that the foundational and leading cryptocurrency was teasing a fresh all-time high, trading was brisk and fruitful in altcoins on Tuesday.

The prices of many were rising notably, at times edging into or exceeding double-digit percentage gains. Utility token Aptos (CRYPTO:APT) was up by slightly over 10%. Fellow utility crypto Chainlink (CRYPTO:LINK) was enjoying a more than 5% gain, ditto for meme token Shiba Inu (CRYPTO:SHIB). Slightly behind its peers was Bitcoin Cash (CRYPTO:BCH), with a sub-5% rise.

The politics of crypto

Barring proprietary news that swims against the tide of that day's general sentiment on its fortunes, the cryptoverse tends to trade in line with its unquestioned leader, Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC).

Happily for holders of altcoins, Bitcoin was doing gangbusters on the second trading day of the week. The previous night, its price crossed what market wags like to call an "important psychological barrier," -- i.e., a nice round number -- in this case, $70,000. It kept going, to the point where it was trading at just under $72,400 early Tuesday evening. That's barely over $1,000 shy of its all-time high; keep in mind that it's been in existence since 2009.

Why the rush into Bitcoin and, consequently, altcoins? Lately, there seems to be a significant trend driving this. It's the market's increasing belief that both Donald Trump and Kamala Harris will support the crypto industry if elected. It's rare that an industry lands in such a position; usually, it counts on either benefiting from laissez-faire policies typical of Republicans or suffering from the increased regulatory scrutiny stereotypical of Democrats.

Yet both presidential aspirants have signaled quite strongly that they're supportive of digital coins and tokens.

Of the two individuals, Trump is the more overt about this -- he's even drafted a noted crypto lover, Tesla, as a big player in his campaign, and vice-presidential candidate J.D. Vance is an active investor and advocate. Meanwhile, his opponent even held a Crypto4Harris rally, although she personally did not appear (Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer attended in her stead).

Talk is cheap

This affects Bitcoin directly, as it continues to be a proxy for cryptocurrencies generally. Yet a crypto-friendly policy is sure to benefit all manner of coins and tokens, hence the bullishness for many flavors of coins and tokens lately.

However, investors shouldn't take for granted that either Trump or Harris will be lenient on crypto assets. Scandals have erupted in the sector in the recent past, and it's likely more will occur before long. When that happens many people call for stricter oversight, and regulators have indicated that they're willing to aid in that effort.

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Eric Volkman has positions in Bitcoin. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Aptos, Bitcoin, Chainlink, and Tesla. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.