Crypto World takes victory lap after big US election bet pays off

On November 5, a few dozen Bitcoiners, MAGA hat wearers, and curious locals gathered to watch the election results being announced at PubKey, a Bitcoin bar in New York’s Greenwich Village. A digital display on the wall showed the price of Bitcoin rising above $73,000 on favorable news Donald Trump. The numbers also looked better and better Bernie Morenoan Ohio Republican trying to unseat the senator Sherrod Brownwho had called for hearings on the use of cryptocurrencies by terrorists. Moreno was backed by crypto companies with $40 million.

At 10:30 p.m., the organizer of a Bitcoin meetup group announced that the probability of a Trump victory had reached 88% on crypto gambling site Polymarket. “Bitcoin is booming, dude!” he shouted. “You should buy it before it goes to a million.”