Traders are scrambling to position for a Donald Trump victory in next week’s US election, triggering a frantic rush into bitcoin and gold which is tipped to benefit from ballooning deficits and geopolitical tensions under the Republican candidate.

Bitcoin has surged more than 8 per cent over the past two sessions to as high as $US73,564 ($111,974) on Tuesday in New York (Wednesday AEDT), just shy of March’s all-time peak of $US73,798. Meanwhile, gold hit a fresh record of $US2781.69 an ounce in Asia trading on Wednesday, topping its previous high posted on Tuesday.