Bitcoin hits a new all-time high and races towards $100,000 as the rally continues

Bitcoin broke the $98,000 level for the first time on Thursday, as investors continued to expect a second Donald Trump presidency.

The price of the flagship cryptocurrency was last up more than 3% at $97,541.61, according to Coin Metrics. Previously, it rose to $98,367.00.

Crypto exchange Coin base advanced 2% while MicroStrategywhich trades as a bitcoin proxy, rose 13%. Mining stocks also rose Mara Holdings an increase of 9%.

Bitcoin has regularly hit new records this month on hopes that Trump will usher in a golden age of crypto, which would include more supportive regulations for the industry and a potential national strategic bitcoin reserve or stockpile.

This latest move was caused by a spike in financing rates and open interest in the futures market during trading in Asia. Around the same time, spot market premiums fell, according to data from CryptoQuant.

Bitcoin’s recent surge also caused a wave of short liquidations — at one point exceeding $100 million in a 24-hour period, according to CoinGlass — pushing the price further overnight.

“Looking back at previous moves of this magnitude, BTC has historically either entered a period of consolidation or ignored the overbought situation as investors flocked in,” Rob Ginsberg, an analyst at Wolfe Research, said in a Wednesday note.

“Since we are just coming out of one of those long consolidation periods and the price is currently at a new high, something tells us the chase is on,” he added. “The real test will come when the key psychological level of $100,000 is likely to be reached in the coming weeks” – and could happen as early as Thursday.

Another Trump term also implies bigger budget deficits, possibly more inflation and changes in the international role of the dollar – all things that would have a positive impact on the price of bitcoin.

Bitcoin has gained more than 130% in 2024.

– CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed reporting.