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It seems fitting that bitcoin’s rise above $103,000 came in the final month of a groundbreaking year for the asset.
You already know about the first US spot bitcoin ETFs in January and Trump’s election win a month ago. Then there was the president-elect’s selection this week of Paul Atkins as SEC chair (who many deem to be a crypto advocate). And Fed Chair Jerome Powell even recently compared bitcoin to gold.
The fact that gold’s market cap is still nine times larger than bitcoin’s (about $18T to $2T) “should offer additional insight into how much more room there is for bitcoin to grow from current levels,” LMAX Group market strategist Joel Kruger said in an email.
Momentum driving $BTC past the psychological six-figure price mark can beget more momentum — albeit not without volatility.
“It not only validates the long-term belief of the community but also signals to institutions, corporations, sovereign funds, skeptics and sidelined investors alike that bitcoin has entered a new phase of adoption and recognition as a store of value and a transformative asset class,” according to 21Shares crypto research strategist Matt Mena.
Bitcoin had dipped to about $99,000 by 3 pm ET on Thursday.
A key next target is $110,000, Mena added, citing Deribit data that shows the majority of Jan. 31, 2025 call option contract volume is concentrated at that price level.
Industry watchers have also pointed to $BTC’s history of price swings to temper mania from the most bullish of bulls.
After the early years of bitcoin, the road to $100,000 included a rise to $18,000 in 2017 followed by a plummet to around $4,000 the following year. A surge to nearly $70,000 in late-2021 was followed by a severe downward move to $16,000 in 2022.
While optimism is high that the Trump Administration and a crypto-friendly Congress will help spur crypto regulatory and legislative clarity, Nansen principal research analyst Aurelie Barthere said those might not pan out as expected.
He said: “Once we witness the first policies and decisions from the Trump Administration in January, there could be some risk of disappointed expectations, especially if the agenda prioritizes tariff and immigration-related policies first.”