Bitcoin hit an unprecedented milestone late Wednesday evening—surpassing $100,000 for the first time in its history. The cryptocurrency surged to $103,000 at 9:45 PM ET, according to CoinGecko data. This historic moment for the digital asset adds fuel to the larger cryptocurrency market.
The performance comes shortly after renewed investor optimism and more action on the largest crypto exchanges. But analysts say the rally could be just warming up.
Several altcoins also saw big gains while Bitcoin dominated the headlines. The altcoin rally was led by Stacks (STX), which rose 15% in the last 24 hours to $3. Sandbox (SAND) was close behind, which rose 14% to $0.87.
Additionally, Ethereum Classic (ETC) and Bitcoin SV (BSV) had renewed momentum, reaching prices previously seen since earlier this year. ETC jumped 17% to $37 this week, while BSV improved by 18% to $84.30. These gains are attributed to market participants becoming more enthusiastic about legacy assets tied to Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Bitcoin's bullish movement is affecting the entire altcoin space, with the surge in altcoin prices as more investors look to diversify their positions to gain in related assets. In November, volumes on the Crypto exchange also reached new highs, indicating a strong market and confidence in the industry.
Regulatory shifts in the US pushed Bitcoin to new heights, breaking records. President-elect Donald Trump appointed Paul Atkins, a former Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) commissioner, to fill the vacant SEC Chairman Gary Gensler's seat has restored the crypto market.
According to market analysts, the upcoming administration provides a favorable regulatory environment. Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald, Swyftx lead analyst Pav Hundal said Bitcoin's price rise is driven by market sentiment over the nomination of Atkins. "This rally gained additional momentum from the belief that regulatory scrutiny may ease under the incoming SEC leadership," explained Hundal.
Market analysts warn that a bull cycle is always subject to corrections. According to a market analyst at eToro, Josh Gilbert, Bitcoin's uptrend may undergo minor pullbacks in the short term, due to investors taking profits. But he also said the overall market sentiment is still bullish as order flows and exchange activity is induced by strong demand.