Live updates: Bitcoin steady around $80,000 as markets rally after Democratic sweep

Bitcoin climbs back above $80,000 a day after the midterm scare

Bitcoin climbed back above $80,000 early Thursday, a day after early midterm returns knocked it to about $75,700. The fear faded fast once Democrats took control of both chambers of Congress and investors decided the result cleared up more than it threatened.

The Dow jumped 3% on Wednesday, the S&P 500 added nearly 2% and the Nasdaq Composite rose more than 1%. Brent crude fell nearly 9% to about $95 a barrel, and the 10-year Treasury yield slipped below 4.9%. President Donald Trump acknowledged that the Iran war played a role in his party’s defeat.

That’s close to the path Jeff Mei, chief operating officer at crypto exchange BTSE, laid out on Monday. He told CoinDesk then that a Democratic majority could force an earlier end to the Iran conflict, pulling down oil and inflation and lifting stocks and crypto.

Ether led the majors, jumping 4% to just above $2,400. SOL gained nearly 4% to about $97, while XRP and ZEC each rose 3%. BNB climbed 2% back above $700, and TRX slipped 1%, the only major in the red, according to CoinDesk data.

Investors also put money back into the ETFs. U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs took in about $75 million on Wednesday, and ether ETFs drew $53 million, according to SoSoValue.

Democrats take over both chambers in January, and Mei said on Monday that the party is against the CLARITY Act, the bill that would set rules for U.S. crypto markets.