Donald Trump, the President of the United States, has signed an executive order allowing retirement accounts (401k) to invest in alternative assets, such as private equity, real estate, and cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. The 401k accounts, which accumulate automatically from monthly paychecks, amount to $9 trillion (approximately 12,465 trillion won). This opens the possibility for substantial funds to flow into the cryptocurrency market, in addition to stocks and bonds. Michael Novogratz, CEO of the cryptocurrency-focused asset management firm Galaxy Digital, stated, “401k is an enormous capital pool,” and added that “the avenues for people to access cryptocurrencies are expanding.”
Following this news, cryptocurrencies and related stocks are experiencing a surge. According to CoinMarketCap, a global cryptocurrency market tracker, as of 8:40 am on the 8th, Bitcoin is trading at $117,352, reflecting increases of 2.04% over the past 24 hours and 1.28% over the past week. Ethereum is at $3,897, marking a 5.84% rise within 24 hours.
Additionally, XRP is up by 10.74% to $3.31, BNB has increased by 2.09% to $785.92, and Solana is trading at $175.01, a rise of 4.02%.
On the New York Stock Exchange, MicroStrategy closed at $402.01, up 4.85% on the 7th (local time). MicroStrategy is known for holding the most Bitcoin through its treasury strategy of long-term buying and holding. The largest U.S. exchange, Coinbase, rose by 2.37% to close at $310.79, while Bitcoin mining company Bitmain ended the day up 7.3% at $41.28.