Bitcoin has reached yet another all-time high, surpassing $118,000 for the first time on Friday 鈥 as a flood of money continues to move into spot bitcoin ETFs, all while U.S. President Donald Trump's crypto-friendly influence makes its way through Washington.
According to data from CoinMarketCap, the going price for bitcoin climbed as high as $118,856 early Friday. It's since fallen closer to $117,300 around 12:30 p.m. ET 鈥 but that's still over $7,400 higher than what the world's most popular cryptocurrency was trading at a month ago, and more than double its price this time last year.
Spot bitcoin ETFs opened up cryptocurrency investing more widely 鈥 and analysts have pointed to record inflows recently. And a soft U.S. dollar and the digital currency friendliness of also has helped to lift the price of bitcoin to unprecedented levels over the past few months.
Last month, the passed legislation that would regulate a form of cryptocurrency known as stablecoins, the first of what the industry hopes will be a wave of bills to bolster its legitimacy and reassure consumers.
Known as the GENIUS Act, the bill would establish guardrails and consumer protections for stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency typically pegged to the U.S. dollar. The acronym stands for 鈥淕uiding and Establishing 好色tv Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins.鈥 And next week, the House of Representatives will be considering this bill as part of Congress鈥 efforts to strengthen the country's crypto position.
The fast-moving legislation comes on the heels of a 2024 campaign cycle in which the crypto industry ranked among in the country.
Trump, once a , became a of the industry throughout his presidential run last year 鈥 and has since his and own crypto empire even further. Earlier this week, Trump Media & Technology Group said it had filed paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission seeking approval to launch its 鈥淐rypto Blue Chip ETF鈥 later this year.
Bitcoin's rise also arrives amid a wider backdrop of economic uncertainty, notably the global turmoil spanning from Trump's steep 鈥 and at times on-again, off again 鈥 new tariffs the president has imposed against key trading partners worldwide.
鈥淏itcoin has shown resilience this year rebounding in-line with its macro exposures following tariff announcements," Citi analysts wrote in a Friday research insights. But again, they noted that the Trump administration 鈥渉as been positive for Bitcoin鈥 overall 鈥 and attributed bitcoin's recent rally to overall changes to the outlook of U.S. regulation, as well as investments into spot ETFs.
Bitcoin鈥檚 backers have often argued that the asset is like a 鈥渄igital gold鈥 that can act as a hedge against volatility 鈥 but many have remained skeptical of that comparison. Larger market conditions have previously proven also to sway bitcoin's price.
In April, amid a wider selloff following Trump's sweeping 鈥淟iberation Day鈥 tariff announcements, bitcoin briefly . That marked the cryptocurrency鈥檚 lowest price since before Trump's Election Day victory in November.
While bitcoin has since rebounded significantly, it's important for investors to remember that it's still a highly volatile 鈥 and relatively new 鈥 asset that's seen wild swings in value before. In short, history shows you can lose money in crypto as quickly as you鈥檝e made it.
