Bitcoin climbs to record $123,000
SINGAPORE: Bitcoin surpassed $120,000 for the first time on Monday, marking a milestone for the world's largest cryptocurrency as investors bet on long-sought policy wins for the industry this week. Bitcoin scaled a record high of $123,153.22 before pulling back slightly to trade 2.4 percent higher around $122,000. Later in the day, the US House of Representatives will debate a series of bills to provide the digital asset industry with the nation's regulatory framework it has long demanded.
Those demands have resonated with US President Donald Trump, 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 strong 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. The surge in bitcoin, which is up 30 percent so far this year, has sparked a broader rally across other cryptocurrencies over the past few sessions even in the face of Trump's chaotic tariff policies. Ether, the second-largest token, scaled a more than five-month peak of $3,059.60, while XRP and Solana gained about 3 percent each.
The sector's total market value has swelled to about $3.81 trillion, according to data from CoinMarketCap. 'What we find interesting and are watching closely are the signs that bitcoin is now being seen as a long-term reserve asset, not just by retail investors and institutions but even some central banks,' said Gracie Lin, crypto exchange OKX's Singapore CEO.
'We're also seeing increasing participation from Asia-based investors, including family offices and wealth managers. These are strong signs of bitcoin's role in the global financial system and the structural shift in how it is perceived, suggesting that this isn't just another hype-driven rally,' Lin said.
Meanwhile, Wall Street fell marginally on Monday as investors ran into President Donald Trump's latest tariff threats against the EU and Mexico, starting a week loaded with economic data and major second-quarter earnings. Trump ramped up trade tensions over the weekend, vowing to slap a 30 percent tariff on most imports from the European Union and Mexico starting August 1 - a move that leaves the clock ticking for last-minute trade deals. The EU extended its pause on retaliatory measures until early August, holding out hope for a negotiated truce. The White House said talks with the EU, Canada and Mexico are still underway. Trump's latest salvo follows last week's tariff offensive, which targeted the United States' close allies like Canada, Japan, and South Korea, and a 50 percent duty on copper. Yet, investors barely flinched, having grown accustomed to Trump's tariff threats and his track record of last-minute reversals. – Reuters
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