The Strengthening of Cryptocurrencies Following the US Elections

The results of the US Presidential elections were nothing short of tectonic. In a single night, it looks like the entire political system was shaken to the core with the victory of Donald Trump. Now, for the first time in the history of the nation, a man who did not hold any legislative or governance position will become the next president of the Republic.

As millions try to come to terms with the fact that Hilary Clinton did not attain a victory that appeared almost certain in the beginning of October, billions across the globe are trying hard to figure out what will this mean for the geopolitical balance of power. More importantly for the short-term, those from the financial domain are working on predicting the movement of the markets following the shocking victory.

During the follow-up period, plenty of things did occur in the first 24-48 hours and some of these were discreetly connected with the changes in the value of cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin. But, other things occurred as well, all of which are relevant to the blockchain domain and the FinTech area as a whole. Here is the breakdown of the most important fact took place with Trump winning the presidency.

Stronger Bitcoin

In the overall choppy and turbulent time period over the last several weeks, the election week saw a 4% increase in the bitcoin value. BTC started trading at $709 at the start of 4th November but reached nearly $740 on the same day, which was almost in the area of $780, which was the top value of 2016 so far. The rise was expected once the news broke that the next president of the US will not be a woman.

In fact, the same thing that was seen with events like Brexit occurred again: deep uncertainty pushed individuals and companies to look for security in diversity. Some predicted that the rise will cover over $100 following Trump victory. Brexit rise in BTC price was in the same domain and it took the currency from $550 to $650 in a single day.

Bitcoin, as the most popular cryptocurrency on the planet which is daily used for things like betting online using BTC, everyday e-shop purchases and much more, is only the most prominent example of the post-election shift. There are also many additional ones.

Gains made by Monero Digital Currency

Monero, a digital currency that places a huge emphasis on the privacy of its users, surged over 20%, taking it from about $5 to well over $6 in the same week. But, Zcash fell for over 75% in the same time period, even though many believe that the fall was spurred on by an unrealistic start at an incredible $900 right after its launch.

Other sees the peculiar position of Zcash and its ZEC as something that is worth noticing. While Monero is providing its benefits as an already established cryptocurrency, ZEC has only begun trading. Its supply is growing quickly on a weekly basis and this means more sellers that lead to a drop in the price.

Additionally, while both currencies cover an impressive list of privacy features, there is a sharp distinction between the two. Zcash is as of November only a month-old, while Monero started working as a network with a shared ledger in 2014. In the two-year period, it had the opportunity and the means to undergo substantial testing of its capabilities.

Ether Volatility

Probably the second largest digital currency in the world both in terms of current trading and the potential, Ether, also got its share of price changes. At first, it fell slightly and ended the Election Day with a 3% loss. Ether classic, on the other hand, got a small boost and rose about 6% to the level of 0.087 BTC.

Interestingly, analysts had a hard time explaining why the Ether classic moved in the same direction, especially when the idea of Ether going the opposite way is taken into consideration. A small reason was found in the fact that China-based BTCC exchange expressed an interest in listing this digital currency, meaning that the connection to the elections could be purely coincidental one. However, many felt that other forces were also at play.

In any case, the change in the price of all these digital currencies still points to a strong link with the US elections. The same means that all manner of cryptocurrencies got impacted by the same event, not just the popular bitcoin.

An Uncertain Road Ahead

The issue with the US election is not only that they produced unexpected results. The problem lies in the fact that so many people in the financial and FinTech domains simply failed to predict this from occurring. The resulting change in the markets so far was not huge, but there was no calculation that was put in place for this eventuality.

In essence, pundits place the election in two possible categories – either it will be a Clinton landslide victory or it will be a close call. No one, including the conservative media which to a varying degree supported Trump, offered the possibility of a comfortable Trump win.

The same information shows that the process of media coverage in the new world of the connected 21st century is not able to follow the constant shift in positions. On the other hand, the modern media industry, with an ever-growing number of tools at its disposal when it comes to broadening its reach to potential audience members, is trying to paint itself as more competent than before.

The reality, which includes the United States president-elect Donald Trump, shows that the same idea is completely flawed. At the same time, the FinTech domain is literally plugged into the news cycle where buying and selling take place on an even minor wink that something is about to happen in the relevant places of power and influence.

As the world steps into the age of the constant change, some other means of information sharing and gathering is needed. The AI tech has made huge steps in domains like eSports and programming, so it might be the right time to think about using it as a means of keeping the public informed. The cryptocurrency community would be wise to try and help in this process. This time around cryptocurrency in general managed to profit on the uncertainty. But, a world of constant uncertainty is not good for any venture, including digital currencies.