A vibrant neon display advertises a cryptocurrency exchange for Bitcoin and Ethereum in Warsaw, Poland, captured on May 19, 2024.
Jaap Arriens | Nurphoto | Getty Images
Bitcoin is closing in on its all-time peak, fueled by a recent surge that also elevated ether to price points unseen since 2021.
The value of Bitcoin showed a 1% increase, hitting $119,782, according to Coin Metrics data. Ether, despite a slight dip of about 1.6% to $4,181, had experienced a significant jump on Sunday, reaching its highest mark since December 2021. The $4,000 threshold was surpassed on Friday for the first time since that December.
These upward trends occurred concurrently with a rise in U.S. stock futures, as investors prepare for upcoming key inflation reports. The broader stock market is also approaching new record highs.
Shares of Coinbase showed a premarket gain of over 3%. Galaxy Digital also increased by 3%, while Bitcoin-related investment vehicle Strategy saw gains exceeding 2%. Multiple mining companies experienced gains exceeding 3%, including Mara Holdings, Riot Platforms, and Iren.
Markus Thielen, CEO of 10x Research, attributes much of the cryptocurrency surge to buying activity during Asian trading hours, which is being driven by the rapid increase in U.S. debt. He pointed out that Bitcoin’s breakout from its consolidation phase in early July aligned with President Donald Trump’s signing of the Big Beautiful Bill, which included raising the debt ceiling by $5 trillion.
“The Bitcoin breakout isn’t just random; it’s fueled by the quickest expansion of US debt ever recorded and that surge is not slowing down,” he commented. “Whether the economy remains strong or dips into a recession, the flood of new debt provides a tailwind for tangible assets like Bitcoin and gold.”
“The next key point of resistance, sitting at $133,000, is now within reach, with both positioning and market structure strongly favoring bullish trends,” he added.
At the same time, stocks linked to ether also experienced gains, as investor money flowing into recently launched treasury firms has pushed the price of the second-largest cryptocurrency above $4,000 – a level seen as both a psychological and technical barrier for investors in the past.
Shares of Bitmine Immersion Technologies increased by about 11%, while SharpLink Gaming rose by 3%. Data from SoSoValue indicates that ether ETFs experienced higher inflows ($326.83 million) than bitcoin ETFs ($246.75 million) last week.