Bitcoin tops $95,000 for the first time

TOKYO — Bitcoin hit a record Thursday, topping $95,000 for the first time as it benefits from expectations that president-elect Donald Trump will push through measures to ease regulation of the unit.

The digital currency reached $95,004.50 in early Asian trade, with observers expecting it to soon reach $100,000.

Traders have been piling into the unit since Trump was elected at the start of the month, pushing it up almost 40 per cent since the vote.

The tycoon pledged on the campaign trail to make the United States the "bitcoin and cryptocurrency capital of the world," and to put tech billionaire and right-wing conspiracy theorist Elon Musk in charge of a wide-ranging audit of governmental waste.

Stephen Innes at SPI Asset Management said the surge has been "driven by mounting confidence that President-elect Donald Trump's administration will usher in a crypto-friendly era. Speculators rally behind the narrative, fueling a frenzy as the digital asset edges toward an unprecedented valuation".