Bitcoin (BTC) went past $108,000 late on Tuesday, setting yet another all-time high before declining rapidly during the current session, with the price currently at $103,760. But what is driving BTC’s latest surge, and could growing institutional interest lead to a supply squeeze? BTC’s post-election gains stand well over 50%, with its most recent rally beginning after President-elect Donald Trump proposed establishing a US Bitcoin Strategic reserve, which sparked considerable excitement in the market.
Another major factor driving the rally is growing institutional interest and activity, particularly from MicroStrategy. The company recently purchased its latest tranche of BTC worth $1.5 billion, bringing its total holdings to a staggering 439,000 BTC, valued around $48 billion at current prices. MicroStrategy’s inclusion in the Nasdaq 100 index is also expected to significantly boost demand for its stocks, which could positively impact BTC.
BTC’s price action was mixed last week, as it registered a substantial drop on Monday, dropping almost 4% to an intraday low of $94,185 before settling at $97,434. Bearish sentiment persisted on Tuesday, with the price dropping to a low of $94,313 before settling at $96,912. BTC recovered on Wednesday to register an increase of just over 4% to climb above $100,000 and settled at $100,900. Despite positive price action on Wednesday, BTC fell back on Thursday, dropping by 0.97% and settling at $99,923. A recovery on Friday allowed BTC to reclaim the $100,000 level and settle at $101,394.
The weekend began with BTC registering a marginal decline on Saturday before rising almost 3% on Sunday to settle at $104,181. BTC surged to an intraday high of $107,464 to set an all-time high on Monday as bullish sentiment gathered pace. However, it could not stay at this level and ultimately settled at $105,750, registering an increase of 1.51%. Bullish sentiment persisted on Tuesday as BTC set a new all-time high, rising to $108,268 before declining and setting at $106,144. However, BTC declined during the current session, with the price down almost 2% at $104,246.
