Bitcoin rises during US presidential election
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The cryptocurrency market is currently riding a wave of optimism following Donald J. Trump's victory in the 2024 US presidential election. Bitcoin hit a new all-time high (ATH) of $82,400 (uncharted territory) amid reports that President Trump supports the US becoming a major cryptocurrency hub. However, with the price of cryptocurrencies soaring, running a crypto company in the healthcare sector remains difficult. I know this personally as the Black female founder and CEO of a crypto-powered healthcare company called PaytyEntry.
Bitcoin’s post-election rise
Bitcoin prices soared following President Trump's victory, likely due to speculation that the incoming administration will adopt policies to stimulate economic growth and encourage investment in alternative assets. Under Trump's previous term, the industry was able to thrive because of tax breaks and loose regulatory oversight. Investors are betting on another performance, leading to large inflows into Bitcoin.
Additionally, the anticipated launch of a Bitcoin ETF in the US is adding to the excitement, potentially opening the floodgates to institutional investors. As traditional markets face geopolitical uncertainty and rising inflation, Bitcoin is once again gaining traction as a hedge against economic instability.
Healthcare sector: A hidden opportunity for cryptocurrencies?
While Bitcoin is enjoying its moment in the spotlight, the healthcare sector appears to have been left out of the current crypto rally. Healthcare-focused altcoins and blockchain projects were once hailed as industry changers, according to a journal article, “Blockchain Integration in Healthcare: A Comprehensive Survey of Uses,” published by the National Library of Medicine. It promised to revolutionize data management, patient privacy, and supply chain logistics. Cases, performance issues, and mitigation strategies. But in this recent bull market, most, if not all, of them have gone unnoticed.
These projects demonstrate how blockchain can be leveraged to improve transparency, efficiency, and patient engagement in the healthcare sector. These cryptocurrencies may not yet be as widely recognized as Bitcoin or Ethereum, but they are carving a niche for themselves by using decentralized technology to solve specific industry challenges.
So why aren't these coins riding the same wave as Bitcoin?
Regulatory uncertainty: Healthcare is a highly regulated industry. Integrating the underlying blockchain technology and using cryptocurrencies in healthcare systems will require navigating a complex regulatory framework, slowing adoption. The new administration is likely to focus more on traditional economic growth than on healthcare reform, so it may not push hard to introduce decentralized solutions in this area. Lack of Market Awareness: Bitcoin has become a household name, but many healthcare altcoins do not have similar awareness among both investors and industry leaders. Although the coin is attempting to gain market attention, it has not been adopted at a large enough scale to compete with mainstream crypto assets. Funding and development challenges: Due to the bear market that lasted from 2022 to 2023, many altcoin projects struggled to secure funding. While there has been a resurgence of interest in some sectors such as DeFi and NFTs, healthcare coins have not enjoyed the same level of investment. The lack of solid financial backing has slowed development and innovation in this area.
Potential Catalyst for Healthcare Altcoin Revival
Although progress has been slow, the long-term potential of blockchain in healthcare remains strong. Here are some developments that could fuel the resurgence of healthcare altcoins.
Increased focus on data privacy: Cybersecurity threats and increasing data breaches in the healthcare sector are likely to increase interest in blockchain solutions that provide immutable and secure data storage. Interoperability standards: The healthcare industry continues to struggle with fragmented data systems. Blockchain could serve as a bridge to improve interoperability, especially if the new administration supports innovation in the medical sector. Decentralized clinical trials: As healthcare moves towards personalized medicine, the ability to run decentralized clinical trials using blockchain technology could streamline processes and reduce costs. Healthcare and AI: Due to stringent privacy and regulatory requirements such as HIPAA and GDPR, the deployment of artificial intelligence in healthcare requires secure distributed data storage to train and utilize language models at scale.
Here are six healthcare-focused altcoins that are gaining traction on platforms like CoinGecko and CoinMarketCap. These altcoins are designed to disrupt traditional healthcare systems by leveraging blockchain technology for data security, decentralized research, and patient empowerment, especially regarding women's health. We are also seeing increased representation of diversity in the healthcare crypto space among our key leadership teams, including myself and Rejuve.AI CEO Jasmine Smith. Here are some prominent coins focused on healthcare.
AthenaDAO (ATH): The AthenaDAO token is a governance token used by members within the Athena DAO ecosystem. This plays a critical role in enabling community-driven decision-making about funding, research prioritization, and strategic initiatives focused on women's health. Rejuve.AI (RJV): This token supports decentralized AI-driven medical research focused on optimizing longevity and health. It is part of the Decentralized Science (DeSci) movement, which aims to democratize access to scientific research. Rejuve.AI allows users to securely provide their health data and earn RJV tokens in return. These tokens can be used within the platform to access personalized longevity insights, health optimization advice, and participation in exclusive research initiatives. The goal is to enable individuals to maintain control over their data while leveraging AI-driven analytics to extend their healthy lives. Patienttory (PTOY): PTOY is the native token of the PTOYMatrix health information exchange and decentralized cloud health data storage network. Healthcare organizations earn PTOY by providing storage space to host medical information and member-driven use cases such as Patientory, Inc., which developed the Medical Data Passport Wallet, and AI rewards consumers with PTOY for achieving their recommended health goals. VitaDAO (VITA): VitaDAO is focused on funding early-stage research in the field of longevity and life extension through decentralized decision-making by token holders. Emphasizes collaborative scientific efforts to extend the healthy human lifespan. Solve.Care (SOLVE): SOLVE token powers the Solve.Care ecosystem, a blockchain platform designed to streamline healthcare management, reduce costs, and improve patient outcomes through smart contracts . The operating company recently changed its name to Tuumio to expand beyond the healthcare realm. MediBloc (MED): The MED token is a utility token for transactions within its ecosystem, rewarding users for providing data and incentivizing healthcare providers to provide high-quality care. Masu. Built on the Cosmos blockchain, MediBloc allows patients, doctors, and healthcare providers to securely exchange medical information, thereby improving patient outcomes and streamlining healthcare processes. The platform uses MED tokens as a utility token for transactions within the ecosystem, rewarding users for providing data and incentivizing healthcare providers to provide high-quality care.
Will healthcare tokens have their moment?
As Bitcoin soars, healthcare altcoins may still be waiting for the right moment to break out. Although the challenges they face are significant, the potential for blockchain to revolutionize healthcare is undeniable. Healthcare-focused cryptocurrencies could make a comeback once regulatory clarity improves and money starts flowing into innovative healthcare projects.
For now, the focus is firmly on Bitcoin. However, as history has shown, the cryptocurrency market fluctuates cyclically. The next wave will likely belong to those who can effectively leverage blockchain and cryptocurrencies to solve real-world problems in the medical field.
Disclosure: I am the current CEO of Patientory, Inc., a cryptocurrency-powered healthcare company.
