Bitcoin briefly jumped above $80,000 today for the first time since May, as the Trump administration’s efforts to hold down long-term interest rates reignite talk of a “dollar debasement trade.”
The biggest crypto exchange-traded fund, the iShares Bitcoin ETF, enjoyed six consecutive days of net inflows through yesterday, according to data provider SoSo Value. Bitcoin is up more than 20% over the past week.
Fears that the dollar’s value could be eroded by inflation and runaway government spending have long fueled the case for bitcoin, created as an alternative to traditional state-backed currencies. Skeptics counter that the digital token is wildly volatile and hadn’t actually served as a useful hedge against inflation.