Bitcoin hits a two-week high after Trump attack

Bitcoin added 8.6% to $62,508, hitting a two-week high of $62,698 earlier in the session, taking its year-to-date gains to 47%

Bitcoin soared to a two-week high on Monday after the attack on U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump raised the odds of the former president, who has presented himself as a champion of crypto currency, winning the upcoming election.

Trump said he was shot in the ear during the attack at a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday. His campaign said he was doing well. Some investors said the attack bolstered his chances of winning back the White House and trades betting on his victory are expected to rise this week.

Bitcoin added 8.6% to $62,508, hitting a two-week high of $62,698 earlier in the session, taking its year-to-date gains to 47%.

Ether was also 6.8%% higher at $3,322.

Trump is running against Democratic President Joe Biden in November's U.S. election and has slammed Democrats' attempts to regulate the crypto sector. Trump presented himself as a champion for crypto currency during a San Francisco fundraiser in June, although he has not offered specifics on his proposed crypto policy.

He's certainly positioned himself as pro-crypto and as the odds of his reelection were galvanised by the shooting on the weekend, it's certainly put a big boost underneath the bid in crypto markets and bitcoin obviously, just an absolute standout, said Tony Sycamore, a market analyst at IG.

Trump is due to speak at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville, Tennessee, on July 27, the organizers of the conference said last week.

Bitcoin had a strong start to the year after the launch of exchange traded funds (ETFs) in the U.S., propelling it to a record $73,803.25 in mid-March but has since struggled. It dropped to an over four month low in early July as traders fretted over the likely dumping of tokens from defunct Japanese exchange Mt. Gox.