Bitcoin hits a new all-time high, surpassing $110,000, and progress made in U.S. stablecoin legislation

On Thursday morning in Asia, Bitcoin surged past the $110,000 mark, breaking the record high set on January 20 when Trump was inaugurated, refreshing its historical high, with an intraday increase of over 2.7%.

The significant strength of Bitcoin is mainly attributed to the momentum of active corporate participation and adoption on Wall Street, as well as progress in U.S. stablecoin legislation, leading to optimistic expectations among investors regarding U.S. regulatory policies.

Looking at a longer timeframe, since May, Bitcoin's price has generally risen steadily, with nearly a 16% increase so far this month. Year-to-date, Bitcoin has risen about 17%, outperforming other risk assets such as U.S. stocks.

Although gold has performed strongly, since the U.S. election, Bitcoin has outperformed gold:

Other cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum, Ripple, and Solana also rose during the session. As Bitcoin reached a new high, the top ten digital currencies by market capitalization recorded gains over a 24-hour period:

Bitcoin's new high has driven up cryptocurrency concept stocks/blockchain concept stocks. During Wednesday's U.S. stock market session:

CRPT rose 14.52%, DAPP rose 10.8%, CleanSpark rose over 8.3%, BTC Digital rose about 6.5%, Ninth City ADR rose over 5.8%, Galaxy Digital, which just went public in the U.S., rose over 5.6%, MARA Holdings rose over 4.7%, TeraWulf rose about 4.1%, Ebang International ADR rose over 3.6%, ProShares rose over 3.2%, and Applied Digital rose 2.9%.

However, "Bitcoin whale" Strategy (MSTR, formerly MicroStrategy) rose 0.9%, lagging significantly behind.

Stablecoin Legislation

Bitcoin's historic new high coincides with progress in U.S. stablecoin legislation, which has sparked hopes for clearer regulations during President Trump's term:

In recent weeks, due to favorable regulatory developments, including the U.S. Senate pushing the stablecoin bill, some Democratic lawmakers withdrew their opposition on Monday, leading to a sustained rebound in Bitcoin and the entire crypto market.

The stablecoin regulatory bill supported by the crypto industry is now ready for debate in the U.S. Senate, with bipartisan lawmakers hoping to push it through as soon as possible, potentially completing it within this week.The terms of the proposed bill have been revised to include stricter anti-money laundering regulations, restrictions on issuers and technology companies outside the United States, and enhanced consumer protection. The new bill will also ensure that issuers in the U.S. and outside the U.S. face the same rules.

Michael Novogratz, CEO of Galaxy Digital, stated on Wednesday: "This is a shift in regulatory attitude from Gary Gensler and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) towards the Trump administration. The Trump administration embraced our industry. This unleashes investment enthusiasm."

Just as Bitcoin hits a new all-time high, Trump is preparing to dine with the largest holders of the memecoin he issued at a golf club in the Washington suburbs this Thursday. However, this event has raised concerns, as it is seen as providing access through transactions that directly benefit the president, sparking criticism over potential conflicts of interest.

Is Bitcoin a Safe Haven?

Previously, during the financial market turmoil triggered by Trump's tariffs, some market participants viewed Bitcoin as a safe haven.

Recently, due to the stalled U.S. budget negotiations, which have brought increased focus on rising deficit spending, the notion of "Bitcoin as a safe haven" has gained traction:

When the U.S. is burdened with this debt, the situation is really tough. You can see the trend in long-term interest rates, the yield curve is selling off everywhere, and the dollar is under pressure. This is good news for Bitcoin and crypto assets.

Corporations Embrace Bitcoin

The strong performance of Bitcoin has also been driven by the active influx of corporations. This includes robust demand represented by Michael Saylor's Strategy company, as well as other companies attempting to emulate its Bitcoin purchasing strategy:

• Strategy company has purchased over $50 billion worth of Bitcoin to date.
• Bitcoin mining companies, numerous smaller market cap companies, and newly formed public companies by crypto giants are providing investors with various forms of Bitcoin exposure through convertible bonds, preferred stocks, and more.
• A subsidiary of Cantor Fitzgerald LP is collaborating with stablecoin issuer Tether Holdings SA and SoftBank Group to launch a company called Twenty One Capital that mimics the Strategy business model.
• A subsidiary of Strive Enterprises Inc., co-founded by Vivek Ramaswamy, is merging with Nasdaq-listed Asset Entities to form a Bitcoin vault company.
• GameStop, a meme stock darling during the 2021 meme stock craze, announced in March this year that its board has approved a plan to hold Bitcoin as a reserve asset, following the Strategy company.

Bitcoin Options Market and ETF

According to Deribit, options traders established bullish positions on Bitcoin earlier this week, with contracts at $110,000, $120,000, and $300,000 being the most notable, meaning they have the highest open interest, and these contracts will expire on June 27According to Amberdata, the demand for short-term call options with expiration dates before the end of June and strike prices above $110,000 has surged in the past 24 hours.

According to Coinglass data, the liquidation of long and short positions in crypto assets remains at a moderate level during this breakout, with approximately $200 million liquidated in the past 24 hours.

Open interest in Bitcoin futures provided by the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) has rebounded 23% from the year-to-date low in April. Meanwhile, investors have poured about $3.6 billion into a series of Bitcoin ETFs in the U.S. in May.

The inflow of funds into Bitcoin ETFs continues to increase: