Bitcoin soared to a historic peak on Friday, fueled by growing interest from institutional investors and a supportive stance from the Trump administration on digital assets.
The world’s largest cryptocurrency climbed to an all-time high of $116,781.10 during Asian trading hours, marking a year-to-date gain of over 24%. It was last trading around $116,563.11.
According to Joshua Chu, co-chair of the Hong Kong Web3 Association, the rally is being led by institutional investors aggressively accumulating Bitcoin. “Major players are scooping up supply and drying up liquidity on exchanges,” Chu said.
Adding momentum to the crypto surge, President Donald Trump has signed a March executive order to create a strategic reserve of cryptocurrencies. He has also appointed pro-crypto figures to key positions, such as Paul Atkins as Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission and David Sacks as the White House’s AI chief.
The Trump family’s ventures into digital assets continue as well. A recent SEC filing revealed that Trump Media & Technology Group (DJT.O) plans to launch a crypto-focused exchange-traded fund (ETF) investing in multiple tokens, including Bitcoin.
Meanwhile, Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency, also experienced a significant boost—rising nearly 5% to $2,956.82 after hitting a five-month high of $2,998.41 earlier in the day.