On the up: a changing role for crypto

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• 00:07

  Hello, Alice Fullwood here, co-host of Money Talks,

• 00:10

  our weekly podcast on markets, the economy and business.

• 00:14

  Welcome to Editors' Picks.

• 00:16

  You're about to hear an article from the latest edition of The Economist.

• 00:20

  Thanks for listening.

• 00:26

  Bitcoin is back.

• 00:28

  Since Donald Trump's election victory on November 5th,

• 00:31

  The world's dominant cryptocurrency has surged to new heights above $100,000 a unit,

• 00:38

  enjoying a rise of 138% since the start of the year.

• 00:43

  Altogether,

• 00:44

  the world's cryptocurrencies now have a market capitalisation of almost $4 trillion,

• 00:50

  making them more valuable than the entirety of Britain's stock market.

• 00:55

  Holders of digital assets certainly have reason to be excited.

• 00:59

  Mr Trump has nominated Paul Atkins,

• 01:02

  a lawyer and head of a crypto advocacy group to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission,

• 01:07

  America's main financial regulator.

• 01:10

  The incoming administration is surrounded by Silicon Valley moguls who believe that regulation and enforcement have held back the crypto industry.

• 01:20

  A proposal by Cynthia Lummis, a Republican senator,

• 01:23

  for a government reserve of 1 million bitcoin may be absurd but it no longer seems impossible.

• 01:30

  As such, today's crypto surge looks different from earlier booms.

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