Bitcoin has reached a significant milestone, surpassing the $100,000 mark on Wednesday evening.
After weeks of nearing this threshold, the flagship cryptocurrency broke through, driven by expectations of more crypto-friendly policies from the Trump administration and a strong stock market prompting diversification into digital assets.
Just a year ago, Bitcoin—launched in 2009—was valued at around $44,000, reflecting an impressive 127% increase in value.
Its steady climb began earlier this year when the Securities and Exchange Commission approved exchange-traded funds (ETFs) tracking Bitcoin’s price. These ETFs, tradable on traditional exchanges, created a bridge between conventional finance and cryptocurrency, enhancing Bitcoin’s legitimacy.
The rally gained momentum last month following Donald Trump’s presidential election victory and the election of what Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong described as “America’s most pro-crypto Congress ever.” This shift was supported by significant contributions from industry super PACs and influential billionaires.
Political tides, coupled with investors trying to diversify their assets away from the roaring stock market, have caused Bitcoin’s rise in value, said Maura O’Neill, an expert in cryptocurrencies and blockchain at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. “People are looking for diversification in an uncertain world and they see an incoming U.S. president who is more friendly to crypto,” O’Neill said.
Washington is now home to an expansive and organized network of pro-crypto advocates, who are lobbying Trump to choose crypto-friendly financial regulators and pushing Congress to give the industry a regulatory roadmap to becoming mainstream.
Trump, once a skeptic of cryptocurrency, displayed a newfound affinity for Bitcoin during his campaign, notably purchasing burgers for supporters at a Bitcoin-themed bar in New York. He has pledged to create a “strategic national bitcoin stockpile” and appointed conservative lawyer Paul Atkins—an outspoken critic of the SEC’s cryptocurrency policies under President Joe Biden—to lead the agency.
Bitcoin, the original decentralized cryptocurrency created by the mysterious Satoshi Nakamoto, now accounts for 52% of the $3.7 trillion cryptocurrency market, fueled by its recent surge in value.
While the $100,000 mark may seem arbitrary, for “Bitcoin maximalists”—those who believe Bitcoin is the only digital asset necessary for the future—it represents a key step toward the cryptocurrency’s dominance over others.
The sustainability of this rally remains uncertain. Without a central bank overseeing Bitcoin, it remains vulnerable to significant fluctuations. “If you look at Bitcoin’s history over the last three or five years, there have been major peaks and troughs,” said O’Neill. “But over time, there’s been substantial growth.”
For crypto to truly thrive, O’Neill argues, the Trump administration must implement regulatory frameworks that protect consumers and investors from risks similar to the 2022 collapse of the FTX exchange, which severely damaged public trust and triggered a “crypto winter.”
Konstantin Richter, CEO of blockchain infrastructure company Blockdaemon, agrees, stressing that the industry requires clear and consistent regulation.
“Bitcoin recently turned 16, marking a significant milestone, but also making Bitcoin a teenager,” said Richter, who is based in the Bay Area. Richter said his company is seeing growing demand for its crypto infrastructure, but it’s still the early days for the industry.
“Many companies [have] moved offshore, which has been a setback for the industry,” Richter said, attributing the flight away from the U.S. to the Biden administration’s hostility toward crypto.
Richter hopes that regulation will allow mature crypto companies to IPO and encourage more founders to build their companies in the U.S. “The future certainly looks bright.”