3 Key Reasons Why Bitcoin Price Is Rising Today

Bitcoin price has surged past the highly anticipated $100K milestone, reaching a new all-time high of $103,850. The rally was driven by key factors, including the appointment of pro-crypto Paul Atkins as the next U.S. SEC Chair following Gary Gensler’s upcoming departure on January 20. Additionally, strong institutional buying and substantial inflows into BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) further fueled the momentum behind this historic price surge.

Three Reasons Behind the Bitcoin Price Rally to $103K

1. Donald Trump Appoints Paul Atkins As Next US SEC Chair

On Wednesday, December 4, Donald Trump finally made the announcement that SEC Commissioner Paul Atkins will be the next US SEC Chair replacing Gary Gensler. The appointment of pro-crypto Atkins has pushed Bitcoin price and the overall crypto market into a strong rally. This development has made the crypto industry optimistic about pro-crypto policies coming to the US very soon.

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse immediately celebrated this development along with US Senator Cynthia Lumis calling it a big win for the crypto industry. Garlinghouse said that Atkins will bring some “common sense” back to the agency. Responding to this, Ripple’s Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty wrote:

“The triumvirate of Atkins, Peirce, and Uyeda at the SEC will not only bring common sense back to the agency, but true investor protection as well”.

However, there are a few questions that remain for the next SEC Chair. It will be interesting to see whether Paul Atkins works with the US government to build the country’s strategic Bitcoin reserve.

2. BlackRock Bitcoin ETF Crosses $50 Billion AUM Supporting Bitcoin Price Rally

BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) has finally crossed the important milestone of $50 billion in assets under management, which is supported by strong inflows and a Bitcoin price surge of $100K. The most important thing is that the BlackRock Bitcoin ETF attained this milestone just within 228 days of launch.

Bloomberg ETF Strategist Eric Balchunas noted that this rapid growth is unprecedented, with the next fastest ETF to reach the $50 billion mark being the iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF ($IEFA), which took 1,329 days—over five times longer. This milestone highlights the demand for Bitcoin while strengthening IBIT’s position in the market. Besides, traditional BlackRock funds have also sought exposure to IBIT over the past few months.

The BlackRock Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) has been single-handedly driving all inflows into US Bitcoin ETFs this week. Just in the first three days of the week, IBIT has netted more than $1.6 billion in net inflows taking its total inflows since inception to more than $33 billion. For reference, its immediate competitor Fidelity’s FETH is one-third in size with $11.5 billion in inflows.

3. Russian President Vladimir Putin Recognizes Bitcoin

Today’s Bitcoin price rally comes as the asset class continues to get approval from across the world. During a speech on Wednesday at the Russia Calling Investment Forum in Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin voiced strong support for Bitcoin and digital assets. He emphasized that no one can ban Bitcoin and that these technologies will continue to grow. Putin said:

“Because these are new technologies and no matter what happens to the dollar, these tools will develop one way or another because everyone will strive to reduce costs and increase reliability.”

BTC Becomes A $2 Trillion Asset

Following the recent Bitcoin price rally to its new all-time high above $103,000, its market cap also surged past $2 trillion for the first time in history. As a result, the asset class is very much close to overtaking tech giants Alphabet and Amazon, to enter the list of top five global assets worldwide.

The Bitcoin futures long positions have surged significantly with the funding rate surging by a massive 81%. Also, BTC’s daily trading volumes surged 50% surging past $100 billion and showing strong bullish sentiment. The

Massive #BTC futures long positions ramp Bitcoin above $100,000 – funding rate hits 81% annualized !!! pic.twitter.com/eqLGmjqH0p

— 10x Research (@10x_Research) December 5, 2024

Also, the Coinglass data shows that the 24-hour liquidations have soared to $171 million of which $130 million are in short liquidations and $41 million in long liquidations. Investors predict the BTC price rally could continue further to $120,000 by the end of December.