Photo: The Guardian
Bitcoin surged to a new all-time high Wednesday afternoon, crossing the $112,000 mark for the first time in its history. The rally comes amid a broader surge in tech stocks, led by Nvidia, which briefly touched a $4 trillion market cap, helping drive the Nasdaq Composite to a record close.
According to Coin Metrics, Bitcoin was last trading at $110,947.49, up 1.9% on the day, after peaking at $112,052.24 just before 4:00 p.m. ET. The move breaks its previous high of $111,999 set on May 22, marking a significant technical breakout after weeks of sideways trading.
The latest rally reflects a broader “risk-on” sentiment returning to markets, as investors pile back into growth-oriented assets like tech and crypto. Although Bitcoin has been largely range-bound for the past several weeks, the combination of institutional accumulation and ETF inflows appears to be providing solid upward momentum.
In the second quarter, corporate treasury purchases of Bitcoin outpaced inflows into Bitcoin ETFs, underscoring the growing adoption of the asset as part of long-term strategic allocations. Despite that, Bitcoin had only gained around 2% in the past month—until this week’s breakout.
Wednesday’s surge was catalyzed by Nvidia’s historic session, which saw the chipmaker become the first company to briefly reach a $4 trillion valuation, before settling slightly lower by market close. The chip giant’s rise boosted broader tech sentiment, which tends to have a correlated impact on risk assets like cryptocurrencies.
“When growth stocks rally and market sentiment turns bullish, Bitcoin often follows,” said Matthew Hougan, CIO at Bitwise Asset Management. “It remains a risk asset in the short term, even as its long-term narrative as digital gold strengthens.”
Many analysts believe Bitcoin could be on track to test $120,000 or higher in the coming weeks, especially as legislative momentum builds in Washington, D.C. around clearer crypto regulation. The upcoming Crypto Week in D.C. is expected to bring fresh attention to the asset class, potentially catalyzing another wave of institutional enthusiasm.
“With bullish sentiment building and summer trading volumes thinning, we could see a sharp move up,” said Ryan Gorman, Chief Strategy Officer at Uranium Digital.
“Open call interest now significantly outweighs puts, which suggests traders are positioning for higher prices.”
Market watchers also point to positive macro factors like decreasing inflation expectations, continued ETF flows, and the growing tokenization of real-world assets as bullish catalysts.
Bitcoin’s push past $112,000 marks more than just a technical milestone. It signals a resurgence of investor optimism, a deepening link between crypto and tech equities, and increasing confidence in digital assets as part of modern portfolio strategies.
Whether this momentum continues into a full-blown summer rally remains to be seen, but the current signals suggest the crypto market is entering a new phase of institutional validation and market maturity.