Bitcoin scales a new all-time high of $100,000

Bitcoin (BTC), the cryptocurrency once dismissed as a niche and risky experiment, surpassed the $100,000 mark for the first time since its introduction in 2009. Bitcoin surged to a record high of $103,457 at 3 AM UTC on Thursday, with other cryptocurrencies including Elon Musk backed Dogecoin (DOGE) also showing significant gains. The value of Ether (ETH), the second most valuable crypto, also rose to $3,855. 

After this week’s rally, the total value of all Bitcoins in circulation is now close to $2 trillion. The creators of Bitcoin have set a maximum cap of 21 million on its total supply. As per industry estimates, 19.9 million Bitcoins have been mined as of 2024, which is 94% of total Bitcoins. 

US president-elect Donald Trump’s recent endorsement of cryptocurrencies has led to a growing optimism towards Bitcoins. In the run up to the US election, Trump marketed himself as a pro-crypto candidate to appeal to the young, tech-savvy voters who are interested in digital assets. 

He attacked the Biden administration’s stance on digital assets including the move to launch CBDCs as an alternative to cryptos. Trump’s campaign reportedly received millions of dollars as donations from the crypto industry. 

Trump also pledged to make the US the cryptocurrency capital of the world by keeping 100% of all the bitcoin the US government currently holds or acquires in the future. He has also picked Paul Atkins, a known crypto advocate, as the new chair of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 

The value of  Bitcoin rose to $75,000 soon after Trump claimed victory in November. 

Trump’s views on cryptos have come a long way since 2021 when had called Bitcoin a scam against the US dollar.

Crypto prices are highly volatile with the potential to turn investors billionaires overnight, but can also wipe out fortunes just as quickly. In late 2021, its value rose to $69,000 before it came crashing down in 2022 to $16,000, following the collapse of the FTX crypto exchange. However, it has since rebounded strongly due to increased institutional adoption and growing global interest in digital assets. 

The crypto industry suffered a series of setbacks in 2022, triggered by the fall in the value of TerraUSD (UST) which led to panic selling by investors. As the value of UST fell to $0.6, the price of its sister coin LUNA also crashed from $120 to $0.02. The coin’s market cap dipped from $41 billion to $6.6 million. The crash of two of the most popular cryptos created panic and led to large-scale sell-offs by investors who wanted to pull out and put their money in more reliable assets. 

This led to a fall in the prices of all cryptos. This was further exacerbated by the FTC scandal that eroded trust in the crypto industry leading to massive sell-offs by investors. 

The crash in the value of cryptos wiped out $600 billion in value during the first week of May 2022, according to market research firm Global Data. The sell-offs also led to shutting down or bankruptcy filing by several crypto firms including the world’s second-largest exchange.

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