Bitcoin has reached a historic milestone, surging past the $100,000 mark for the first time ever, fueled by strong institutional demand, corporate accumulation, and rising expectations for crypto-friendly policies under the incoming presidency of Donald Trump. This rally, which had stalled for much of 2024, was reignited after Trump’s early November election win, adding momentum to Bitcoin’s upward trajectory.
Year-to-date, Bitcoin is up approximately 130%, with its market capitalization nearing $2 trillion, just 15 years after its inception. To put this into perspective, companies like Nvidia and Apple have market caps around $3.5 trillion, Microsoft sits at $3 trillion, and Google and Amazon both have valuations around $2.2 trillion. In comparison, the total market value of all the gold in the world is estimated at $17.7 trillion.
A key driver behind Bitcoin’s surge has been the launch of spot-based Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) by major asset managers like BlackRock and Fidelity. These ETFs have attracted significant investor interest, quickly amassing around $30 billion in assets under management in less than a year.
However, despite the success of the ETFs, Bitcoin’s price had stalled for much of the year, partly due to the uncertainty surrounding the U.S. presidential election. But with Trump’s win in early November, the rally gained renewed strength, propelling Bitcoin past its previous high of $73,500 from March, and quickly climbing through $80,000, $90,000, and eventually breaking the $100,000 barrier.
Corporate adoption has also played a crucial role in Bitcoin’s rise. Leading the charge is MicroStrategy, a business intelligence firm headed by Executive Chairman Michael Saylor. Since beginning its Bitcoin purchases in August 2020, MicroStrategy has continued to raise billions of dollars to invest in Bitcoin, amassing a staggering 386,700 Bitcoin valued at over $38 billion. Saylor’s strategy has inspired other publicly traded companies, including U.S.-listed Semler Scientific and Japan-listed Metaplanet, to adopt similar Bitcoin treasury strategies. Even tech giant Microsoft is considering whether to pursue its own Bitcoin acquisition strategy, with a proposal currently under review by its board.
