Bitcoin surpasses $100K, marking a new era for crypto as institutional adoption and regulatory clarity drive momentum. Investors eye a pro-crypto U.S. administration to cement its financial mainstream status.
Dec 5 (Reuters) - Bitcoin catapulted above $100,000 for the first time on Thursday, a milestone hailed even by sceptics as a coming-of-age for cryptocurrencies as investors bet on a friendly U.S. administration to cement cryptos' place in financial markets.
The total value of the cryptocurrency market has almost doubled over the year so far to hit a record just shy of $3.8 trillion, according to data provider CoinGecko. By comparison, Apple AAPL.O alone is worth about $3.7 trillion.
Bitcoin's march from the libertarian fringe to Wall Street has minted millionaires, a new asset class and popularised the concept of "decentralised finance" in a volatile and often controversial period since its creation 16 years ago.
Bitcoin has more than doubled in value this year and is up more than 50% in the four weeks since Donald Trump's sweeping election victory, which also saw a slew of pro-crypto lawmakers being elected to Congress.
Once it broke $100,000 in Thursday's Asian morning, it was soon above $103,000 and was last fetching $103,335 BTC=.
"We're witnessing a paradigm shift," said Mike Novogratz, founder and CEO of U.S. crypto firm Galaxy Digital.
"Bitcoin and the entire digital asset ecosystem are on the brink of entering the financial mainstream - this momentum is fuelled by institutional adoption, advancements in tokenisation and payments, and a clearer regulatory path."
Trump embraced digital assets during his campaign, promising to make the United States the "crypto capital of the planet" and to accumulate a national stockpile of bitcoin.
"We were trading basically sideways for about seven months, then immediately after Nov. 5, U.S. investors resumed buying hand-over-fist," said Joe McCann, CEO and founder of Asymmetric, a Miami digital assets hedge fund.
On Wednesday, Trump said he would nominate Paul Atkins to run the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Atkins, a former SEC commissioner, has been involved in crypto policy as co-chair of the Token Alliance, which works to "develop best practices for digital asset issuances and trading platforms," and the Chamber of Digital Commerce.
"Atkins will offer a new perspective, anchored by a deep understanding of the digital asset ecosystem," said Blockchain Association CEO Kristin Smith.
"We look forward to working with him ... and ushering in – together – a new wave of American crypto innovation."
A slew of crypto companies including Ripple, Kraken and Circle are also jostling for a seat on Trump's promised crypto advisory council.
PART OF THE LANDSCAPE
Bitcoin has proven a survivor through precipitous downturns.
Its move into six-figure territory is a remarkable comeback from a dip below $16,000 in 2022 when the industry was reeling from the collapse of the FTX exchange. Founder Sam Bankman-Fried was subsequently jailed.
Analysts say the growing embrace of bitcoin by big investors this year has been a driving force behind the record-breaking rally.
U.S.-listed bitcoin exchange-traded funds were approved in January and have been a conduit for large-scale buying, with more than $4 billion streaming into these funds since the election.
"Roughly 3% of the total supply of bitcoins that will ever exist have been purchased in 2024 by institutional money," said Geoff Kendrick, global head of digital assets research at Standard Chartered.
"Digital assets, as an asset class, is becoming normalised," he said. "If you fast forward a number of years on trading floors you'll have a sales and trading desk...which will sit alongside FX and rates and commodities."
It is already becoming increasingly financialised, with the launch of bitcoin futures BTCc1 in 2017 and a strong debut for options on BlackRock's ETF IBIT.O in November.
Crypto-related stocks have soared along with the bitcoin price, with shares in bitcoin miner MARA Holdings MARA.O and exchange operator Coinbase COIN.O each up around 65% in November.
Trump himself unveiled a new crypto business, World Liberty Financial, in September, although details have been scarce and billionaire Elon Musk, a major Trump ally, is also a proponent of cryptocurrencies.
'WHO CAN PROHIBIT IT'
The cryptocurrency industry has been criticised for its massive energy usage, while crypto crime remains a concern, and the underlying technology is yet to deliver a major revolution in the way money moves around the globe.
Still, as Russian President Vladimir Putin pointed out at an investment conference on Wednesday: "Who can prohibit it? No one." And its longevity is perhaps testament to a degree of resilience.
"As time goes by it's proving itself as part of the financial landscape," said Shane Oliver, chief economist and head of investment strategy at AMP in Sydney.
"I find it very hard to value it ... it's anyone's guess. But it does have a momentum aspect to it and at the moment the momentum is up."
Ongoing uncertainty surrounding US President Donald Trump's tariff strategy has driven Bitcoin's value below the $75,000 mark on Monday.
US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order establishing a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a U.S. Digital Asset Stockpile, under the Treasury Department.
Bitcoin and ether, the two largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, plunged to multi-month lows on Tuesday amid a broad market sell-off and heightened uncertainty following last week's hack that siphoned $1.5 billion in ether from the crypto exchange Bybit.
Bitcoin fell below $100,000 on Monday, hitting an 11-day low as market caution spiked following the debut of a Chinese AI model that triggered a selloff in Western tech stocks.
Bitcoin surged 2.5% to $104,736 after Trump’s executive order on cryptocurrency, while Ethereum rose 4%. Market cap hit $2.07T amid regulatory and tech advancement plans.
Kazakhstan is on the verge of awarding a major contract for its first-ever nuclear power plant, with bidders from China, Russia, France, and South Korea still in the running.
The UK government has pushed back its plans to regulate artificial intelligence by at least a year, opting instead to prepare a more wide-ranging bill covering both safety and copyright issues.
A 30-year-old woman was shot by police in Munich on Saturday evening after stabbing two people at Theresienwiese, a central park best known for hosting Oktoberfest.
Military personnel at a barracks just a stone’s throw from Windsor Castle were warned not to leave the grounds in uniform after a man was arrested.
The world’s largest amateur golf tournament, the Turkish Airlines World Golf Cup, has made its debut in Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana.
Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) has confirmed it carried out a third targeted attack against the Crimean Bridge, also known as the Kerch Bridge, early Tuesday morning, marking a new escalation in the ongoing conflict with Russia.
A strong 6.3 magnitude earthquake shook Japan’s Hokkaido prefecture early Monday, causing no reported injuries or damage, and no tsunami warning was issued, officials confirmed.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to speak this week to discuss recent trade tensions, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
Peace talks between Russia and Ukraine ended abruptly in Istanbul on Monday, lasting just over an hour amid mounting tensions following a major Ukrainian drone strike on Russian strategic bombers and renewed pressure from the U.S. for a breakthrough.
Eid al-Adha, known as the "Festival of Sacrifice," stands as one of Islam's most significant celebrations, commemorating Prophet Ibrahim's willingness to sacrifice his son in obedience to Allah's command.
Global food commodity prices experienced a notable decline in May, driven by significant drops in the cost of grains, sugar, and vegetable oils, the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reported on Friday.
Germany’s new government has launched a major program aimed at boosting investment and helping Europe’s largest economy recover after two years of decline.
The European Central Bank has reduced its three key interest rates by 25 basis points, aligning with expectations and reflecting progress toward its inflation target.
Centrica, owner of British Gas, has agreed to a £20 billion deal with Norway’s Equinor to supply nearly 10% of the UK’s gas needs annually for the next decade, supporting energy security while paving the way for future hydrogen integration.
Tesla’s shares declined by about 14.2% on Thursday, reducing the company’s market value by roughly $152 billion, as Elon Musk and Donald Trump publicly exchanged criticisms on social media.
Kazakhstan is on the verge of awarding a major contract for its first-ever nuclear power plant, with bidders from China, Russia, France, and South Korea still in the running.
The UK government has pushed back its plans to regulate artificial intelligence by at least a year, opting instead to prepare a more wide-ranging bill covering both safety and copyright issues.
A 30-year-old woman was shot by police in Munich on Saturday evening after stabbing two people at Theresienwiese, a central park best known for hosting Oktoberfest.
Military personnel at a barracks just a stone’s throw from Windsor Castle were warned not to leave the grounds in uniform after a man was arrested.
The world’s largest amateur golf tournament, the Turkish Airlines World Golf Cup, has made its debut in Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment