Hanoi, May 9 – Bitcoin soared past the $100,000 threshold on Thursday, reaching an intraday high of $101,370, marking its highest level since early February. The rally signals renewed investor confidence in risk assets, including cryptocurrencies, following a turbulent April dominated by global trade tensions.
The milestone comes as market sentiment improves in the wake of news that the White House has reached a trade agreement with the UK. Analysts believe the breakthrough may help unwind uncertainties surrounding last month’s tariff disputes and reignite risk appetite across financial markets.
Similar to equities, bitcoin has recently been trading in tandem with broader risk assets, responding positively to easing trade concerns. “Tariff tensions made safe-haven assets like the dollar and Treasurys more attractive in April,” analysts noted. “As those concerns ease, bitcoin is regaining its allure.”
Another major catalyst behind bitcoin’s rally is surging institutional interest. According to Standard Chartered, inflows into spot bitcoin ETFs have climbed to $5.3 billion over the past three weeks, indicating a significant rise in demand since mid-April. Major firms are entering what some call an “arms race” to acquire bitcoin, including Strategy, which is reportedly planning to spend $84 billion on further acquisitions.
Meanwhile, developments at the state level in the U.S. have also given crypto advocates reasons for optimism. New Hampshire and Arizona recently introduced state-level crypto reserves, marking the first such move in the country. However, Zack Shapiro of the Bitcoin Policy Institute suggests the long-term market impact of state initiatives may be limited compared to the influence of Wall Street players.
Despite the bullish momentum, some experts caution that the rally is occurring on relatively low trading volume, which could make prices more volatile in the short term. “Low volume rallies are often fragile,” said crypto analyst Puckrin, adding that ongoing trade policy uncertainties could still disrupt market dynamics.
Nevertheless, Standard Chartered remains optimistic, projecting bitcoin could reach $120,000 in Q2, though the bank now admits that figure may underestimate the token’s upside potential. “Given the momentum and institutional inflows, bitcoin may very well surpass our previous target,” the bank’s global head of digital assets research said in a note on Thursday.
With the crypto market regaining steam, investors will be closely watching whether bitcoin can sustain this rally—and possibly reach new all-time highs in the coming weeks
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Source: Vietnam Insider