Bitcoin at all-time high as lawmakers focus on pro-crypto legislation
President Donald Trump, once a crypto skeptic, has become a major promoter of the industry.
Scripps News
Bitcoin leapt past $120,000 for the first time on Monday, marking another milestone for the world’s largest cryptocurrency as investors bet on long-sought policy wins for the industry this week, which has been dubbed “crypto week” by U.S. Republicans.
Bitcoin BTC= scaled a record high of $123,153.22 before pulling back to trade 0.5% higher around $119,745 at 1625 GMT. The increase brings the year-to-date gains for digital currency to 30%.
The U.S. House of Representatives is set to debate and likely pass a series of crypto-related bills this week. The bills could provide the digital asset industry with the nation’s regulatory framework it has long sought.
Those demands have resonated with U.S. President Donald Trump, a Republican who has called himself the “crypto president” and urged policymakers to revamp rules in favor of the industry.
“It’s riding a number of tailwinds at the moment,” said IG market analyst Tony Sycamore, citing institutional demand, expectations of further gains and support from Trump as reasons for the bullishness.
“It’s been a very, very, strong move over the past six or seven days and it’s hard to see where it stops now. It looks like it can easily have a look at the $125,000 level,” he said.
Trump and his family have made a series of forays into cryptocurrencies in the past year, including a new crypto project, World Liberty Financial, and the launch in January of his own meme coin.
Last week, crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun, who was already a major investor in the $TRUMP coin, announced that he was buying another $100 million.
The coin, which hit a high of around $75 in the days after its January launch, fell 3.4% on Monday to $9.45, CoinMarketCap data showed.
The surge in bitcoin has sparked a broader rally across other cryptocurrencies over the past few sessions even as Trump’s chaotic tariff policies have knocked sentiment in other markets.
Ether ETH=, the second-largest token, scaled a more than five-month peak of $3,081.94, although it remains down year-to-date. XRP XRP= gained nearly 5%.
The sector’s total market value has swelled to about $3.8 trillion, according to data from CoinMarketCap.
Simon Peters, analyst at eToro, noted that bitcoin’s price had not hit a record high in other currencies such as the euro, suggesting that dollar weakness was behind some of the rise to a new record on Monday.
Crypto week
U.S. Republicans have declared the week of July 14 “crypto week,” during which members of Congress are set to vote on the Genius Act, the Clarity Act, and the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act.
The most significant bill is the Genius Act, which would create federal rules for stablecoins.
“Developments around these pieces of crypto legislation could provide a further tailwind to the current rally. We wait to see,” eToro’s Peters said.
Elsewhere, prices of crypto stocks and exchange-traded funds advanced.
Shares of crypto exchange Coinbase COIN.O were up 1%, while bitcoin holder Strategy MSTR.O climbed 2.6%. Crypto miner Mara Holdings MARA.O was up 6.3% in U.S. trading.
Hong Kong-listed spot bitcoin ETFs launched by China AMC 3042.HK, Harvest 3439.HK and Bosera 3008.HK all hit record highs.
Reporting by Rae Wee in Singapore; Additional reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru, and Alun John and Tommy Reggiori Wilkes in London; Editing by Kim Coghill, Kate Mayberry, Bernadette Baum and Matthew Lewis
