LONDON: Bitcoin surged to a record high above US$105,000 in early Asian trade on Monday, boosted by comments from President-elect Donald Trump that suggested he plans to create a U.S. bitcoin strategic reserve similar to its strategic oil reserve.
Bitcoin hit a high of US$105,142 and last traded at US$104,609.
The price rose on news reports over the weekend that Trump would go ahead with a bitcoin strategic reserve fund, according to Tony Sycamore, an analyst at IG.
"We're in blue sky territory here," Sycamore said. "The next figure the market will be looking for is US$110,000. The pullback that a lot of people were waiting for just didn't happen, because now we've got this news."
Bitcoin has surged more than 50 per cent since the Nov. 5 election that saw Trump elected along with many other pro-crypto candidates.
"We're gonna do something great with crypto because we don't want China or anybody else - not just China but others are embracing it - and we want to be the head," Trump told CNBC late last week.
When asked if he plans to build a crypto reserve similar to oil reserves, Trump said: "Yeah, I think so."
The cryptocurrency industry spent more than US$119 million backing pro-crypto U.S. congressional candidates, hoping to boost those who would pass crypto-friendly bills to promote digital assets.
Trump this month named a White House czar for artificial intelligence and cryptocurrencies, former PayPal executive David Sacks, a close friend of Trump adviser and megadonor Elon Musk.