Bitcoin continues to smash all-time high records, as the leading cryptocurrency broke $113,000 on Thursday, according to data from Binance. After flirting with a new high on Wednesday, topping $112,000 according to some exchanges, a surge on Thursday pushed it above previous thresholds, with prices nearing $114,000 as of publication.
The climb continues a torrid summer for the popular digital asset, which has spent most of the past few months above $100,000, a benchmark it first reached in December 2024 before dipping back to $75,000 in April.
The months-long rally can be largely attributed to the election of President Donald Trump in November, who embraced crypto on the campaign trail and promised a series of crypto-friendly policies, including a government strategic reserve holding Bitcoin, which he signed as an executive order after taking office in January.
According to Andy Baehr—the managing director at CoinDesk Indices, which measures the performance of digital assets—demand from crypto ETFs and corporate treasuries is driving much of the recent price movement, with long-term holders taking profits. Other popular cryptocurrencies are also rallying, with Solana increasing nearly 6% over the past week and Ethereum nearly 10%, according to data from Binance.
Bitcoin boom
Originally conceptualized in a white paper by the pseudonymous figure Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008, Bitcoin served as the first cryptocurrency, or a kind of decentralized currency that is not controlled by a single entity or government. And while thousands of cryptocurrencies have since emerged, Bitcoin remains the largest by far, with a market capitalization of $2.25 trillion, compared to Ethereum’s $340 billion.
While Bitcoin’s price has spent most of its existence on a rollercoaster—dramatically increasing and falling again amid hacks, collapses, and scandals—it has steadily grown since late 2022, when the bankruptcy of the crypto exchange FTX sent the industry into a so-called “winter.” Bitcoin’s real explosion, however, came after Trump embraced the cryptocurrency on the campaign trail, with Bitcoin topping $100,000 for the first time soon after his election.
The thawing regulatory landscape and subsequent institutional adoption have helped spur the rally. The Securities and Exchange Commission first approved Bitcoin ETFs in early 2024, which allowed investors to put money into exchange-traded vehicles that held the cryptocurrency without directly holding it themselves. And in recent months, publicly traded companies have begun to hold Bitcoin in their treasuries—an approach evangelized by Michael Saylor’s Strategy, which is one of the largest owners of the cryptocurrency.
For an experimental project first conceptualized as an alternative financial system, Bitcoin is increasingly dominated by publicly traded companies and funds. But if its enigmatic architect, Satoshi, ever re-emerges, he would become one of the richest people on earth. His stash is now estimated at around $100 billion.
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
