Market News

(Bloomberg) -- Bitcoin rose to within striking distance of an all-time high as demand from institutional investors and corporate treasury buyers lifts the wider market for digital assets.

The original cryptocurrency advanced as much as 3.3% to top $122,000, not far shy of a previous record set in mid-July. A weekend rally saw Ether surge to above $4,300, its highest level since December 2021.

The gains come on the back of mounting interest in cryptocurrencies among large investors. So-called digital-asset treasury companies — listed vehicles that pivot into accumulating cryptocurrencies — have to date amassed a Bitcoin stockpile worth $113 billion, according to data compiled by Coingecko. Equivalent vehicles for Ether have stockpiled some $13 billion of the token so far, according to strategicethreserve.xyz data.

“Bitcoin’s climb toward record highs is being supported by steady institutional inflows into corporate treasuries, US spot ETFs and a shift in sentiment following new US tariffs on imported gold bars,” said Rachael Lucas, a crypto analyst at BTC Markets. “With gold facing supply bottlenecks and policy risk, Bitcoin’s role as a borderless, tariff-free store of value is gaining traction among investors.”

Bitcoin traded around $121,200 as of 6:15 a.m. in New York, while Ether was at $4,250.

Eric Trump, son of US President Donald Trump, who has financial interests in several digital-asset entities, applauded the Ether rally in a post on X. Bloomberg News reported Friday that investors are being sounded out on a plan for World Liberty Financial, the Trump family-backed venture, to set up a public company that would hold its WLFI tokens.

Ether options markets reflected the bullish sentiment with an overall put-call ratio 0.40. The highest concentration of call options with a December 26 expiry is at $6,000, according to Deribit data.

Bitcoin and Ether positioning has been heavily skewed toward September and December calls in line with macro rate-cut timing and continued adoption by the traditional financial system, said Sean McNulty, derivatives trading lead of APAC at digital-asset prime brokerage FalconX Ltd.

For Bitcoin, the next major milestone is the previous all-time high of $123,205, while support for the token can be found near $116,000 if the current momentum fades, Lucas added.

(Updates pricing.)