Bitcoin surged to a record high above $120,000 on Monday as institutional investors and corporations fueled a rally in the coin’s ETFs.
The cryptocurrency traded at $121,673.10 at 9:35 a.m. ET, after earlier in the session breaking past $122,000.
The surge comes ahead of the so-called “Crypto Week,” as the US House of Representatives is scheduled to start deliberating on a series of crypto bills on Monday.
Members of Congress will be reviewing legislation that aims to create clearer regulatory guidelines around the industry, like the Genius Act, which would create federal guardrails for stablecoins pegged to the US dollar.
President Trump, who has branded himself as a pro-crypto president, is backing the bills.
Retail investors largely took a back seat during this latest rally as institutional investors poured into Bitcoin ETFs, or exchange-traded funds, which notched their largest day of inflows so far this year at $1.18 billion on Thursday.
Over the last six to eight weeks, these investors have purchased $15 billion in Bitcoin ETFs, according to Markus Thielen, CEO of 10x Research.
Bitcoin has broken several records lately thanks to “massive unrelenting demand meeting limited supply,” Matt Hougan, chief investment officer at Bitwise Asset Management, told CNBC’s “The Exchange.”
“We expect Bitcoin to top $200,000 by the end of the year, which I know sounds like a very large number, but the flows we’re seeing from institutional investors and corporations are really significant,” Hougan said over the weekend.
“They’re accelerating, not slowing down, and I think they’re gonna force that price substantially higher.”
The US House of Representatives is scheduled to deliberate on a series of crypto bills this week. REUTERS
Thielen told CNBC’s “Access Middle East” that he hopes the US will announce a sovereign wealth fund that could purchase digital currencies.
Bitcoin still faces some hurdles that could stall it from surging past $120,000.
Trump has continued to ramp up his trade war threats, most recently with letters sent to the EU and Mexico warning of 30% tariffs.
Markets appear to have shrugged off the news for now, but this could change if lower tariff rates are not reached following negotiations.
Bitcoin could also be thrown off course if the Federal Reserve hikes interest rates on fears that tariffs will reheat inflation and slow growth.
