Bitcoin nears record high as analysts tell market to 'buckle up'

Its price surge is linked to renewed fears of inflation in the US, with tariffs on key imports into the country coming back into discussion.

The price of Bitcoin (BTC) rose to as high as $107,000 on Sunday before consolidating to its current price over the following day.

The cryptocurrency’s price surged as analysts warned that several macroeconomic trends could continue to propel BTC in the second half of 2024.

Among these trends are renewed fears of inflation in the US, with tariffs on key imports into the country coming back into discussion.

The Senate is also expected to discuss a landmark cryptocurrency draft bill this week, which would create the first-ever US regulatory framework for stablecoins.

These are cryptocurrencies pegged to the USD, such as Tether and the USD Coin (USDC), which offer a more stable alternative to volatile cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.

It is unclear if the bill has a majority support in the US House, but experts believe it represents a breakthrough in talks over cryptocurrency legislation.

The bill needs to pass a 60-vote threshold, and many Democrats said they need to review the revised text before making any commitments.

It is however, already facing opposition from several Democrats, including Senator Elizabeth Warren, who raised concerns that the draft bill “does not include any provision to prevent Trump and the Trump family from raking in enormous amounts of money from their corrupt cryptocurrency schemes”.

Ms Warren’s Banking Committee staff also circulated another memo on Thursday, warning that “many of the new changes are fig leaves for significant flaws that jeopardise consumer protection and national security”.

Amid these observations, Bitcoin rose to as high as $107,000 on Sunday before it consolidated to its current price over the following day.

Corporate demand for Bitcoin seems to be on the rise.

JPMorgan analysts flipped from gold to bitcoin, predicting that the cryptocurrency’s price could outperform gold for the rest of the year.

Strategy, the largest corporate Bitcoin holder with a total holding of 568,840 BTC, announced last week that it acquired an additional 13,390 BTC for approximately $1.3bn.

I truly understood Bitcoin in 2011-2012 and in all these years, the bull case for it has never been stronger. Banks can now custody and offer BTC to their customers, sovereign states and corporations are competing to buy, utility phase of TCP/IP for money is taking off. Buckle up

Several other companies have adopted Bitcoin or announced plans to acquire it as a strategic reserve asset.

“I truly understood bitcoin in 2011-2012 and in all these years, the bull case for it has never been stronger,” former president of Paypal, David Marcus, recently posted on X, urging people to “buckle up”.

Global economic trends also appear to have contributed to Bitcoin’s rally.

Even though the US Federal Reserve has kept the interest rate unchanged at about 4.25 per cent to 4.50 per cent, inflation still remains a concern as new trade policies take effect.

Announcing product price rises this month following the roll out of president Trump’s tarrifs, Walmart CFO John David Rainey said: “The magnitude and speed at which these prices are coming to us is somewhat unprecedented in history.”

These changes could further reinforce Bitcoin’s appeal among investors as an inflation hedge, experts say.