Bitcoin price exceeded $118 thousand for the first time. Should we wait for new records?

The value of bitcoin on July 11 exceeded $118 thousand for the first time. The token is updating the maximums for the third day in a row. The rally is due to the growth of corporate interest in the cryptocurrency and support from U.S. lawmakers. Traders are already betting on the token's growth to 120 thousand, write Bloomberg.

On Friday, the cost of bitcoin reached $118,755. The rise in price led to a large-scale closing of short positions: according to Coinglass, in the last 24 hours "shorts" for more than $1 billion were liquidated. On Thursday, investors invested $1.2 billion in bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). This is one of the largest inflows since the launch of cryptocurrency funds, notes Bloomberg.

Bitcoin has gained more than 25% since the beginning of the year, notably outperforming the S&P 500 index, which has added just 7%, as well as the shares of Nvidia, the AI sector's flagship, whose market capitalization has risen 22% since the beginning of the year and consolidated above $4 trillion on July 10. 

Amid the general growth of the crypto market, the value of the second most capitalized token, Ethereum, reached about $3000.

Participants in the options market are already waiting for bitcoin to rise to $120,000, Bloomberg writes. After the price exceeded $116,000 for the first time, open interest on the crypto exchange Deribit centered in the area of call options with strikes of $115,000 and $120,000. Increased interest is also seen in long-term options with expirations in September and December, especially at strikes of $140,000 and $150,000.

"Notably, the options market reflects renewed bullish confidence," said Bloomberg's Chris Newhouse, director of research at DeFi trading firm Ergonia. He said the positive funding rate in open-ended bitcoin futures indicates traders are looking to hold long positions. These contracts are one of the most popular tools for margin trading in the crypto industry.

Earlier this year, bitcoin's main momentum was driven by demand from retail investors entering cryptocurrency-focused ETFs, writes Investopedia. However, the market experienced a correction in April after President Donald Trump imposed high duties on imports. Since then, the market has been supported by numerous companies that have followed the lead of Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy): they have started buying bitcoin to de-virginize assets.

"Bitcoin hit a new all-time high amid unrelenting demand from investors and corporations," explained Bloomberg crypto platform Ledn's chief strategy officer Mauricio Di Bartolomeo.

The driver for the growth of crypto-assets was also the decisions of the US presidential administration. Trump announced the creation of a strategic bitcoin reserve, and the U.S. Senate passed the GENIUS bill, which gives private companies the right to issue stablecoins - cryptocurrencies directly tied to the national currency, most often the U.S. dollar. Continuing macroeconomic risks - particularly rising tensions over duties the Trump administration plans to impose in August - are also contributing to the cryptocurrency's historic rise.

"Bitcoin is showing why it is in a league of its own," said Bloomberg OKX US platform CEO Roshan Roberts. - As trade conflicts intensify and altcoins sag, institutional investors see bitcoin as a macro-protective asset and an emerging mature investment class. July will be a test for the markets, but bitcoin is ready for it."

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor