After a two-week flirtation with the six-figure mark, Bitcoin has done it rose to over $100,000 For the first time, it is expected that the new government will be friendlier towards cryptocurrencies and relax regulations on them.

The milestone came late Wednesday after President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration nominated Paul Atkins to head the Securities and Exchange Commission. Atkins leads Pomak Global Partners, a financial services advisory group that works with clients in the crypto industry. Atkins is also an advisor to the Chamber of Digital Commerce, a cryptocurrency advocacy group.

The choice is a significant departure from outgoing SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, who cracked down on digital assets following a market decline in 2022 that exposed fraudulent practices and led to costly blowouts, including sudden collapse the crypto exchange FTX, followed by the crypto lenders Genesis and Celsius.

Coinciding with Trump’s selection of a crypto supporter to head the SEC, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Wednesday compared Bitcoin to gold, saying at the New York Times’ DealBook Summit: “People are using Bitcoin as a speculative asset. It’s like gold, it’s just like gold.” “It’s just virtual, it’s digital. People don’t use it as a means of payment or a store of value,” Powell said. “It’s very volatile. It’s not a competitor to the dollar, it’s really a competitor to gold.”

Once a skeptic, Trump is now a convert. He and his sons have begun Her own crypto company and other members of the new government have previously disclosed investments in and support for cryptocurrencies. They include Vice President-elect JD Vance, Health and Human Services nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

Trump spoke at a Bitcoin conference in Nashville over the summer, where he promised to make America the “crypto capital of the planet” upon his return to the White House.

Trump took credit for Bitcoin’s rise on Thursday, posting on his platform Truth Social: “CONGRATULATIONS BITCOINERS!!! WELCOME!!! Together we will make America great again!”

The price of Bitcoin has risen 42% since the day before the presidential election on November 5, when the price was around $70,000 per coin. After breaking through the $100,000 mark, it rose as high as $103,800.