Bitcoin Soars Past $100K as Ethereum and Pepe Explode

A tsunami of cash flowed into the crypto market as Ethereum spiked 20% to over $2,386 and PEPE soared 31% to lead gainers among the biggest cryptos.

U.S. President Donald Trump announced that a U.S.-U.K. trade deal is in the works, which saw investor sentiment soar and spark a huge rally in crypto prices on Thursday.

A tsunami of cash flowed into the crypto market as Ethereum spiked 20% to over $2,386 and PEPE soared 31% to lead gainers among the biggest cryptos. Bitcoin surged 4.9% to trade at $103,965 by 3:53 E.S.T., bursting past $100k for the first time since February.

“We are going to be making a trade deal with Britain, a breakthrough that will reduce trade barriers and expand market access for American agricultural, industrial, and energy exports to the United Kingdom,” Trump said in a statement.

Trump added that the two countries will cooperate on emerging technologies and cybersecurity.

The president’s statement comes after British officials said that trade talks with the U.S. have stalled.

Crypto Fear And Greed Index Reaches Levels Last Seen In January

Tthe Crypto Fear And Greed Index jumped 8 points to a “Greed” reading of 73, its highest reading since January 31, when it reached a score of 76.

It is also a substantial improvement from the “Extreme Fear” reading of 18 that was reached just a month ago at the height of Trump’s global trade war.

The index, which is created by cryptocurrency analytics website Collective Investment, takes into account various market indicators, such as volatility, trading volume, social media mentions, and searches.

According to the website, a score of 0 to 24 indicates extreme fear and total lack of interest in cryptocurrencies, while a score of 74 to 100 indicates greed and excessive optimism.

Greed is generally associated with a bull market, while fear is linked to a bear market.

Meme Coins Explode

The meme coin sector’s market cap skyrocketed 22.3% to $62.9 billion, according to CoinGecko.

Sector titan Dogecoin surged 13.9%, while Brett and Fartcoin led gains among the biggest meme coins with 32% and 22% pumps, respectively. Moo Deng soared 162% and Peanut the Squirrel skyrorocket 67%.

Metaplanet Doubles Down On Bitcoin

Bitcoin’s pump past $100k led market sentiment and Japan’s Metaplanet announced in May 9 statement that it would raise an additional $21.5 million via a bond issue to buy more Bitcoin

(Related: Japan’s Metaplanet To Issue Bonds To Buy More Bitcoin)

That follows the purchase of $53.4 million worth of Bitcoin that it announced on May 7, along with plans to issue $25 million in zero-coupon bonds to fund yet more Bitcoin purchases.