Bitcoin surge triggers billions in losses for crypto short traders after Trump win

By Shashwat Chauhan

(Reuters) – Short sellers of cryptocurrency and blockchain-related stocks have suffered heavy losses since Nov. 6, after bitcoin surged to record highs, on optimism U.S. President-elect Donald Trump would implement a more favorable regulatory framework.

Crypto short trades looked set for a further hammering on Monday as most cryptocurrency-related stocks jumped in U.S. premarket trading. Among them, Coinbase was last up close to 16%, tracking the surge in bitcoin prices.

Traders who bet against MicroStrategy, one of bitcoin’s biggest corporate backers, lost more than $1.2 billion between Nov. 6 and Nov. 8, according to data analytics firm Ortex, and are down more than $6 billion so far this year.

Combined short-selling losses on crypto-exchange operator Coinbase Global, crypto miners Riot Platforms and MARA Holdings, and blockchain-farm operator Bitfarms were about $1.2 billion, as of the Nov. 8 close.

Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, soared to a record high above $82,000 on Monday, with a nearly 19% jump since Nov. 6, when Republican candidate Trump reclaimed the presidency after defeating Vice President Kamala Harris.

“Bitcoin speculators are betting on a more clement regulatory environment and have expectations that the authorities may build up a reserve crypto fund, helping lift ongoing demand,” said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown.

Investors betting against iShares Bitcoin Trust exchange-traded funds, the world’s largest ETF in terms of assets under management, lost close to $37 million since Nov. 6.

Trump embraced digital assets during his campaign, promising to accumulate a national stockpile of bitcoin and make the United States the “crypto capital of the planet”.

(Reporting by Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai)