Bitcoin price soars past $120,000 for first time

Congress starts ‘Crypto Week,’ which will look to advance legislation on the digital currency

A 25 Bitcoin token is displayed on April 3, 2013 in Sandy, Utah. Rick Bowmer — the associated press

Image

By Kirk Ogunrinde and Suvashree Ghosh

Bloomberg

Bitcoin breached $120,000 for the first time, with investor enthusiasm showing few signs of dimming as the U.S. House of Representatives prepares to consider key industry legislation during its “Crypto Week” that started Monday.

The cryptocurrency bellwether rose as much 3.4% to $123,205 before giving up some gains. Ether, the second-largest token, also advanced to beyond $3,000, along with a host of smaller coins such as XRP and Uniswap.

After surging on the election of Donald Trump to a second presidential term, Bitcoin had settled into a pattern of fluctuating on either side of $100,000 for several months. Concern about Trump’s political and economic policies had helped to temper optimism over the pro-crypto agenda of his administration. Now with other risk assets such as U.S. stocks back around record highs, Bitcoin has also resumed its push higher.

Progress on crucial crypto legislation is adding fresh fuel to the rally. The House will debate and possibly vote this week on the CLARITY Act, the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act and the Senate’s GENIUS stablecoin package as Republicans move to advance Trump’s crypto-friendly agenda.

The prospect of a clear U.S. regulatory framework, along with Bitcoin’s steady advance in the face of Trump’s chaotic trade policy, has bolstered confidence in the asset class among institutional investors.

“This shift signals a maturing perspective on Bitcoin — not merely a speculative asset, but a macro hedge and a structurally scarce store of value,” said George Mandres, senior trader at XBTO Trading LLC.

Investors poured more than $2.7 billion into the group of U.S. Bitcoin ETFs last week, marking the fifth-largest net inflow since their debut in January last year. Collectively, the 12 ETFs now manage about $151 billion in assets. Open interest in Bitcoin futures reached a record high of $86.3 billion on Monday, according to data from Coinglass.

Bitcoin is now up roughly 30% for the year after more than doubling in 2024. Bitcoin’s renewed momentum has also spilled over to smaller tokens — second-ranked Ether rose as much as 2.9%, while Chainlink and Solana were among other coins advancing on Monday.