Bitcoin Surges Past $100K as Institutional Buying, Trade Deals, and U.S. Policy Clarity Fuel Bullish Sentiment

Bitcoin smashed through the $100,000 mark for the first time, pushing even higher toward $102,000 in early trading. Ether joined the rally, jumping 5.5%, as optimism spreads across the crypto market.

Bitcoin price surged past the $110K mark in early Thursday trading as the crypto market continued to be buoyed by institutional buying, new trade deals, and U.S. policy clarity.

Texas lawmakers also moved closer to approving a state-run Bitcoin reserve as the cryptocurrency hit new highs.

Bitcoin rose 3.7% over the past 24 hours to $110,707.60 by 02:18 ET (06:18 GMT). Meanwhile, Ether increased 5.5%, trading at $2,616.98.

The world’s largest cryptocurrency has surged more than 30% from an April low of $74,000, which came right after former President Donald Trump announced Liberation Day tariffs on Friday.

The recent rebound also came as U.S. bond yields rose sharply and stock indexes fell, pushing investors to seek alternative assets like Bitcoin.

According to Santiment, Bitcoin reached a new milestone at $109,500, exceeding its previous high reached on Trump’s inauguration day in 2017.

Institutional players like BlackRock (NYSE:BLK), Fidelity, and Ark Invest have also poured billions into BTC, while the IBIT ETF launched by BlackRock now holds over $20B.

Despite the recent price rally, many retail traders remained largely cautious, which helped the market avoid any excessive hype.

“The brief FOMO peak might cause a small short-term pullback, but if the excitement settles quickly, we could still be looking at $115K-$120K for BTC soon,” Santiment further added.

Bitcoin price today: BTC surges past $110K as Texas nears approval of state-managed Bitcoin reserve

Bitcoin price surged past the $110K mark in early Thursday trading as the crypto market continued to be buoyed by institutional buying, new trade deals, and U.S. policy clarity.

Texas lawmakers also moved closer to approving a state-managed Bitcoin reserve as the cryptocurrency hit new highs.

Bitcoin rose 3.7% over the past 24 hours to $110,707.60 by 02:18 ET (06:18 GMT). Meanwhile, Ether increased 5.5%, trading at $2,616.98.

The world’s largest cryptocurrency surged over 30% from an April low of $74,000, which came right after Trump announced tariffs in a series of posts on Friday, blithely adding that it would be "Liberation Day" for the U.S.

The recent rebound also came following a May 12 U.S.-China trade deal that saw most tariffs being paused for 90 days.

The news came after poor U.S. bond auctions and falling stock indexes pushed investors to seek out alternative assets like Bitcoin, especially in global markets, which were keeping an eye on Washington for key economic data.

According to Santiment, Bitcoin reached a new milestone at $109,500, exceeding its previous high reached on Trump’s inauguration day in 2017.

"The last time we saw anything close to this level of FOMO was back in 2017, during which the price topped out around $109K on January 9, 2017, after Trump's inauguration," the crypto market intelligence firm said.

Institutional players like BlackRock (NYSE:BLK), Fidelity, and Ark Invest have also poured billions into BTC, while the IBIT ETF launched by BlackRock earlier this month now holds over $20B.

But despite the recent price rally, many retail traders remained largely cautious, which helped the market avoid any excessive hype.

"The brief FOMO peak might cause a small short-term pullback, but if the excitement settles quickly, we could still be looking at $115K-$120K for BTC soon," Santiment further added.

"The window for that is closing as we speak, and we're not sure if we'll get a chance to see anything like this again anytime soon."

At a procedural vote in the Senate on Wednesday, lawmakers approved the bill setting clear rules for stablecoins, legitimizing them in the eyes of big investors.

"It's a turning point in crypto history," Andrei Grachev, managing partner at DWF Labs, said of the vote on the GENIUS Act.

"Finally, we might see stablecoins move from being a crypto experiment to a global standard for digital money."

The bill, which now heads back to the House of Representatives, still faces an uncertain fate despite the Senate vote.

But if passed, it would be a major step forward for crypto regulation in the U.S., potentially paving the way for further institutional interest and mainstream adoption.