For the first time in history, Bitcoin closed above the $100,000 mark on Dec. 8. The value achieved a weekly close at $103,900.47 and daily close at $101,236.01. This record achievement portrays a new era of confidence among investors, with several factors influencing the significant increase in digital assets.
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Bitcoin (BTC) reached its all-time high on Dec. 5 at $103,679 but soon corrected itself to $97,074.22, its opening price on Dec. 6. However, on Sunday, Dec. 8, the market closed at $101,236.01, as per CoinMarketCap. The weekly close came in at $103,900.47, pushing BTC’s market capitalization to $2.003 trillion.
Factors leading up to BTC’s $100k stride
A combination of regulatory changes and growing institutional trust in the asset class has been attributed to this phenomenon, which led to a rapid increase, surpassing $100,000 for the first time in both daily and weekly close.
BREAKING: $BTC DAILY/WEEKLY CLOSE ABOVE $100K FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HISTORY pic.twitter.com/WemXVfggHk
— DEGEN NEWS (@DegenerateNews) December 9, 2024
BTC’s popularity also increased as Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell compared it to gold, stating that this gives BTC even more credibility as a legitimate source of value. This viewpoint remains consistent with the increasing recognition of BTC as a reserve currency. In a Q4 report, the U.S. Treasury Department highlighted BTC’s role in boosting crypto market capitalization, now exceeding $2 trillion. It added that the asset has become a reserve currency and is increasingly being added to institutional portfolios. The addition of it to financial systems is a valuable innovation that is changing the perception of digital assets and businesses towards traditional reserves, which many analysts agree with.
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Analyst’s outlook On Bitcoin
According to James Van Straten, Senior Analyst at Coindesk, the BTC boom was heavily influenced by institutional adoption. He said, “It is year one of institutional adoption.” In his speech in Bitcoin MENA, a BTC conference in Abu-Dhabi, Straten also highlighted President-elect Donald Trump’s selection of Paul Atkins as the new SEC Chair as one of the biggest forces to push BTC over the $100k mark. Despite being known for his crypto-friendly position, Atkins is expected to present a more favorable regulatory framework than Gary Gensler, his predecessor, who followed an aggressive policy.
Bitcoin’s role as a hedge against inflation
As of Sept. 30, 2024, the total U.S. federal debt is $35.5 trillion, a $2.3 trillion increase from 2023, as per the recent Financial Audit data. Institutions and nations seeking decentralized alternatives like BTC are encouraged by the rising levels of fiscal instability that undermine trust in traditional fiat systems. Due to its capped supply and freedom from central banks, BTC is increasingly viewed as a hedge against inflation and monetary uncertainty.
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