• Bitcoin surged to a record high near $77,000 on Thursday, extending a rally that followed Donald Trump's win in the presidential election, with investors seeing his future administration as a positive development for the cryptocurrency.

• The cryptocurrency has broken out above the upper trendline of a cup and handle pattern, potentially marking the start of a near-term move higher.

• A measured move, which calculates the depth of the “cup” portion of the pattern and adds that amount to the formation’s top trendline, projects a price target of $126,000.

• Investors should watch key support levels on Bitcoin's chart around $70,000 and $53,000.

Bitcoin (BTCUSD) surged to a record high near $77,000 on Thursday, extending a rally that followed Donald Trump's win in the presidential election.

Investors view a future Trump Administration as a positive development for Bitcoin and cryptocurrency more broadly, specifically in relation to regulation and the potential for the creation of a federal strategic bitcoin reserve, two areas the president-elect addressed when delivering a speech at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in July.

The Trump-fueled momentum comes at a welcome time for the legacy cryptocurrency, which has traded mostly sideways over the past seven months as exuberance subsided following the launch of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in January and the asset’s halving event in April. Since the start of the year, Bitcoin has gained around 80%, adding the lion’s share of those gains in the first quarter.

Below, we analyze the technicals on Bitcoin’s weekly chart and identify important post-election price levels that investors may be watching.

Since its November 2021 peak, Bitcoin’s price has formed a cup and handle, a chart pattern that signals a continuation of the cryptocurrency’s longer-term uptrend.

Indeed, the price staged a breakout above the formation’s upper trendline on Wednesday, potentially marking the start of a near-term move higher.

It’s also worth pointing out, that although Bitcoin trading volumes on Coinbase (COIN) remain below longer-term averages, they have increased in recent weeks, suggesting that investors may be returning from the sidelines.

Let’s forecast a measured move price target and identify key support levels to watch during retracements.

Although there’s limited overhead price action to work with, we can forecast a bullish target using a measured move, also known as the measuring principle.