Breaking: Bitcoin shoots past $15K

Bitcoin surged past $15,000 today, quickly breaking first $15,100 and then briefly $15,200 on a bull run that began below $14,000 on Nov. 4.

The surge came as the U.S. waits for news of the presidential election, which is increasingly looking like Democrat Joe Biden will squeak out a narrow win over President Donald Trump, but that Republicans will maintain control of the Senate—a divided government that will likely mean a quick stimulus package and moderate tax increases.

Bitcoin was up 8.97% to $15,154 at noon on strong volume of $36.3 billion over the past 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap.

“That was quick. #bitcoin = $15K!! On strong volume too. What’s next?!” said Mati Greenspan, founder of Quantum Economics.

Speaking before BTC cracked $15,000 resistance, Real Vision CEO Raoul Pal tweeted that the situation reminded him of late 2016, which preceded 2017’s run past $20,000. 

“The action hasn’t even started yet. You definitely aren’t long enough,” he said this morning.

It’s part of a broader market bull run, with the Nasdaq up 2.45% on the day, the S&P500 up 2.17% and gold up 2.77%.

“I feel there’s closure coming and that’s part of the rally,” Mad Money host Jim Cramer told CNBC. “As long as it’s going to courts, the president complaining to a court, a judge saying that it’s right or wrong, I feel like that’s sloppy democracy in action.”

 That was a common sentiment.

“What you are getting is a sense that you’re not going to have extreme disruption in the wake of the results,” Paul Donovan, chief economist at UBS Global Wealth Management, told CNN Business earlier this morning.

“It’s a complicated mix of things but the bottom line is the market is moving higher on this mix of reduced uncertainty and a better tax environment and that seems to be enough to offset the concern about a contested election,” CMA Chief Investment Strategist Ed Keon told CNBC.