Crypto markets have benefited from a positive environment since US election: Citi

Bitcoin (BTC) reached an all-time high above $100,000 earlier this week as a number of tailwinds fueled a post-U.S.-election rally in the world's largest cryptocurrency, Citi (C) said in a research report on Thursday.

"The nomination of digital asset-friendly Paul Atkins to chair the SEC provided the final boost," that saw Bitcoin break through $100,000 to record highs, analysts led by Alex Saunders wrote.

The cryptocurrency was trading around $98,500 at the time of publication.

Bitcoin continues to be bolstered by exchange-traded fund (ETF) flows and other buying as adoption grows, the bank noted.

The macro environment is also constructive for digital assets. Loose financial conditions and resilient growth are positive for crypto tokens, Citi said.

"Other digital assets likely have more to gain from a more permissive regulatory environment," the authors wrote, noting that bitcoin's dominance has fallen.

Citi said it hasn't seen a notable rise in on-chain activity.

Over the longer term, the bank said a network's utility or value will be linked to its usage, macro correlations and production costs.

A new, more benign regulatory system could unlock more and wider use cases for blockchain assets, the report added.

More permissive crypto policies should broaden the asset class, Citi said, but Bitcoin, which has already been classified as a commodity, and has both a spot ETF and a futures contract, has less to gain than other tokens.