Bitcoin shattered the $100,000 barrier Thursday, reaching an all-time high of $103,619 as investors embraced President-elect Donald Trump’s dramatic shift toward cryptocurrency and his nomination of crypto-friendly Paul Atkins to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The landmark rally has nearly doubled the total cryptocurrency market value to $3.8 trillion this year, rivaling Apple’s $3.7 trillion market capitalization. Bitcoin alone has surged more than 50% in the four weeks since Trump’s election victory, which also ushered in several pro-crypto lawmakers to Congress.
“We’re witnessing a paradigm shift,” said Mike Novogratz, founder and CEO of 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, who previously dismissed cryptocurrency as a scam, has emerged as a champion of digital assets, promising to make the United States the “crypto capital of the planet” and build a national bitcoin stockpile. His nomination of former SEC commissioner Atkins, who co-chairs the Token Alliance and works with the Chamber of Digital Commerce, has further energized the market.
Institutional investment has driven much of the surge, with more than $4 billion flowing into U.S.-listed bitcoin exchange-traded funds since the election. “Roughly 3% of the total supply of bitcoins that will ever exist have been purchased in 2024 by institutional money,” noted Geoff Kendrick, global head of digital assets research at Standard Chartered.
The rally marks a dramatic turnaround from bitcoin’s sub-$16,000 price in 2022 following the FTX exchange collapse. Crypto-related stocks have soared alongside bitcoin, with miner MARA Holdings and exchange operator Coinbase each gaining about 65% in November.
