Bitcoin once rose to more than $1.08 billion on December 17, setting a new record high for the second consecutive day. Then the volatility intensified, and after rising several times during the session, it fell again.
As of press time on December 18, Bitcoin was priced at $106,031, up 0.21%.
Data shows that in 24 hours, a total of 141,009 people worldwide had their positions liquidated, with a total amount of US$346 million (approximately RMB 2.5 billion).
Notably, traders have set their sights on the $110,000 price level.
Bitcoin has risen more than 150% this year, and traders are increasing bets on further gains in the options market.
“We are seeing buyers buying the January expiring $110,000-$120,000 and $110,000-$125,000 call spreads, as well as raising the strike price of the call options from $100,000/$105,000 to $120,000,” said Shiliang Tang, president of cryptocurrency trading firm Arbelos Markets.
The current surge in Bitcoin prices was mainly driven by Trump's victory in the US election. Trump promised to implement policies that are favorable to the cryptocurrency industry after taking office. He previously announced the nomination of cryptocurrency supporter Paul Atkins as the next chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
“Since last weekend, MicroStrategy’s approval for inclusion in the Nasdaq 100 Index and the company’s continued open market purchases of Bitcoin have largely favored Bitcoin’s market dominance, allowing Bitcoin to break through its all-time highs and further attract more capital from the market,” Tang said.
James Butterfill, head of research at CoinShares, noted that the price increases are driven by U.S. election dividends, the prospect of the U.S. using Bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset, geopolitical instability and loose monetary policy, and these factors may continue to play a supporting role in 2025.
According to Chris Newhouse, director of research at Cumberland Labs, the Bitcoin market may be going through a new phase.
“We have observed that funding rates have been relatively neutral throughout, while derivatives positioning suggests some hesitation in the market toward new highs,” Newhouse said. “While it is difficult to predict how new catalysts — such as more structured regulation, a stable compliance framework, or even official government holdings of Bitcoin — will be priced in, the market is ready for a re-evaluation of the long-term potential of cryptocurrencies that goes far beyond the recent rally.”
It is also worth noting that on December 16, MicroStrategy, which is about to be included in the Nasdaq 100 Index, announced that it had purchased another 15,350 bitcoins. The company currently holds a total of 439,000 bitcoins, worth about $45 billion.
According to documents submitted by MicroStrategy to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the company spent approximately $1.5 billion to purchase another 15,350 bitcoins between December 9 and December 15, at an average price of $100,386 per bitcoin.
This purchase of Bitcoin is also the sixth consecutive week that MicroStrategy has increased its holdings of Bitcoin. Just last week, the company purchased 21,550 Bitcoins for approximately $2.1 billion, with an average price of $98,783 per Bitcoin.
According to the Securities Times, Michael Saylor, founder and chairman of MicroStrategy, compared Bitcoin to New York City and its economy, calling it the "Manhattan of the Cyberspace," and the cryptocurrency set a new record.
Saylor made a bold statement. In an interview, he said: "We will keep buying. Every day is a good time to buy Bitcoin." He also said that it was like "I would buy Manhattan 100 years ago, 200 years ago, and every year in the past 300 years."
Earlier, on December 4th local time, at the DealBook/Summit conference hosted by the New York Times, Powell stated that regarding cryptocurrencies and potential U.S. Bitcoin national reserves, Powell emphasized that Bitcoin's competitor is gold, not the U.S. dollar.
Powell said that Bitcoin is like gold, but it is virtual. People do not use Bitcoin as a tool for payment or storage of value, and its volatility is too high. So Bitcoin is not a competitor to the US dollar, but a competitor to gold. #BTC再创新高