Bitcoin tops record $80,000 as Trump nears sweep of US Congress

The price of bitcoin has risen above $80,000 (£62,000) for the first time ever, after Donald Trump's decisive victory in the US election last week.

It comes as the Republicans are edging closer to overall control of Congress after having already secured the presidency and a majority in the Senate.

On the campaign trail the president-elect pledged to make the US "the crypto capital of the planet".

The value of world's biggest cryptocurrency has now risen by more than 80% this year.

Other cryptocurrencies, including dogecoin - which has been promoted by high-profile Trump supporter Elon Musk - are also making gains.

In the run-up to the election Trump said he would create a strategic bitcoin stockpile and appoint digital asset-friendly financial regulators - spurring expectations that he would strip back regulations on the crypto industry.

Trump has said one of his first actions as president would be to sack the current chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Gary Gensler.

Mr Gensler, who was appointed by Joe Biden in 2021, has led the SEC's crackdown on the crypto industry.

“If the Trump administration does deregulate crypto, it’s hard to see how it is not bullish for the sector,” Matt Simpson, market analyst at StoneX Financial told the BBC, adding that such a move could lead bitcoin prices to jump to as high as $100,000.

But “it is still vulnerable to nasty selloffs along the way – which can be less kind to smaller pockets,” he added.

Trump's broader agenda, which includes cutting taxes and reducing regulations on businesses, has also driven a surge in other investments since he won the election.

With Republicans in control of the executive and potentially both the legislative branches of the government, they will be able to advance his ideas through each chamber and send those bills for him to sign into law.

Major stock indexes, the dollar and US bonds have all made gains in recent days.