The government in March

Although 80% of local people backed Trump last November, that support doesn't appear to stop people opposing one of his key crypto goals.The Trump administration is not planning to do away with all regulations around crypto mining - but it is ready to actively help companies open power plants next to the mines.

In an interview with Bitcoin Magazine in April, commerce secretary Howard Lutnick said: "We're going to make it so that if you want to mine Bitcoin, and you find the right place to do it, you can build your own power plant next to it," going on to argue that such projects would stop "these stories about 'You're taking too much power and now the cost of operating my refrigerator is higher'.""The next generation of miners in America will be able to control their destiny, control the cost of power, and I think that is going to turbocharge Bitcoin mining in America," Lutnick told the magazine.According to Zack Shapiro, head of policy at the Bitcoin Policy Institute, a US think tank that researches emerging monetary networks, that process has already begun. "There are states that are passing laws specifically prohibiting municipalities from banning Bitcoin mines," he says. "It's a mechanism by which mining companies can fight back."

And the nature of Bitcoin mining means that, if it meets resistance, it can quickly move on to somewhere more favourable.When Colin Read tackled the mines in Plattsburgh, he saw how easily they could change location.

"This industry is really footloose," he said. "When we told these companies they couldn't have more power without going through hoops, they packed up and went to a community where they didn't have such strict requirements."

Local opposition is not Trump's only challenge. Could the sea, for example, be a better location for Bitcoin mining?When gold hit its previous record in January 1980, the Soviet Union had just invaded Afghanistan. Oil prices were surging, driving up inflation in developed economies, and investors were looking to protect their wealth. The price also rose sharply in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, leading to another peak in 2011.

The recent increases appear to owe a great deal to the way markets have responded to the confusion triggered by the Trump administration.The most recent surge came after US President Donald Trump launched an online attack on Jerome Powell, the chair of the Federal Reserve. Calling for immediate interest rate cuts, he described Mr Powell as a "major loser" for failing to reduce the cost of borrowing quickly enough.

His comments were interpreted by some as an attack on the independence of the US central bank. Share markets fell, as did the value of the dollar compared to other major currencies – and gold hit its most recent record.But gold's recent strength is not wholly explained by the Trump factor.