Bitcoin prices moved higher Wednesday, trading above $6,500 for the first time since mid-October.
A single bitcoin BTCUSD, +1.25% was last changing hands at $6,531.01, up 1.5% since Tuesday at 5 p.m. Eastern Time on the Kraken exchange. The move higher in the world’s largest digital currency has dragged the market value for all cryptocurrencies above $220 billion for the first time in four weeks, according to data from CoinMarketCap.
Read: Opinion: Voting by blockchain could add new risks to our elections—including fraud
Tuesday’s midterms weren’t a complete nonevent for the crypto community. In Colorado, voters elected a pro-crypto and blockchain governor in Jared Polis. The Democrat has long campaigned for decentralized technology to help local business.
“As governor, I will ensure that Colorado explores the potential use of blockchain technology and works alongside the business community, policy experts, local communities, and Coloradans to build a robust economy for the future,” he wrote in a blockchain campaign paper.
Read: Bitcoin may be an unlikely winner in midterm elections
Elsewhere, Gavin Newsom was elected governor of California. The Democrat was one of the first politicians to accept donations in bitcoin back in 2014.
Read: Mining bitcoin is 3 times more expensive than mining gold, research paper finds
What are altcoins and futures doing?
Altcoins, the collective group of coins other than bitcoin, are having a mixed day. Ether ETHUSD, +0.49% was trading 0.3% higher at $216.51, Bitcoin Cash BCHUSD, +0.16% was up 0.7% at $618.40, Litecoin LTCUSD, -1.84% lost 1.3% to trade at $54.13 and XRP, XRPUSD, -0.42% was down 1.4% at 53 cents.
Bitcoin futures finished higher for the second day running. The Cboe Global Markets November contract XBTX8, +1.36% closed up 1.3% at $6,500, while the CME Group November BTCX8, +1.56% ended the day up 1.5% at $6,510.
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