Bitcoin Price Surpasses US$110,000 for the First Time to Head Towards Another Record High

Bitcoin climbed as much as 2.2 per cent in early Asian trading on May 22 to hit US$110,707, before paring gains

Bitcoin price rose above $110,000 for the first time to hit another record high on Monday, 22 May, as traders grew increasingly bullish on the prospects of the original cryptocurrency.

Bitcoin climbed as much as 2.2 per cent in early Asian trading to hit $110,707, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It later pared gains to trade at $109,000 by 10.08am, Kuala Lumpur time.

A wave of optimism is buoying Bitcoin after the advancement of a key stablecoin Bill in the US Senate fuelled hopes of greater regulatory clarity for crypto operators. The Bill would permit banks to custody stablecoins and reserves, use blockchains and issue tokenised deposits.

Surging demand from crypto advocate Michael Saylor’s Strategy - which has stockpiled over $50 billion (S$64 billion) worth of bitcoin - and a growing list of digital-asset hoarders is another driving force behind the rally.

Such buyers include a flurry of obscure small-cap companies and public firms newly-formed by crypto heavyweights which are financing their purchases by offering anything from convertible bonds to preferred stocks to finance.

One affiliate of Cantor Fitzgerald is working with stablecoin issuer Tether Holdings and SoftBank Group to launch Twenty One Capital, a company that emulates Strategy’s business model. A subsidiary of Strive Enterprises, co-founded by entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, is merging with Nasdaq-listed Asset Entities to form a bitcoin treasury company.

In options markets, traders built eye-catching bitcoin positions earlier this week with the $110,000, $120,000 and $300,000 calls expiring on 27 June logging the most open interest - or number of outstanding contracts - on Deribit, the derivatives exchange.

IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said in a note that the fresh record shows that bitcoin’s steep decline from a previous high set on 20 Jan to below $75,000 in April was “a correction within a bull market”.

“A sustained break above $110,000 is needed to trigger the next leg higher towards $125,000,” he added.

Bitcoin’s latest milestone comes as US President Donald Trump prepares to meet the biggest holders of his memecoin at a dinner on Monday at his golf club just outside Washington. The event has raised concerns among ethics experts, who argue that it offers members of the public the opportunity to pay to gain administrative, legislative or judicial action.