Bitcoin is surging once again. And this time, the climb feels different.
The world’s largest cryptocurrency continued its dizzying ascent on Friday, smashing through multiple symbolic price thresholds in a matter of hours and setting a new all-time high for the second consecutive day.
After crossing $112,000 on Wednesday, Bitcoin has barely paused. On Thursday and Friday morning, it blew past $113,000, then $114,000, then $115,000, before jumping to $116,000, $117,000, and finally $118,909 as of press time. That’s a staggering gain of almost $7,000 in less than 48 hours.
The speed of the rally has electrified the entire crypto market, now valued at around $3.75 trillion according to data firm CoinGecko. Bitcoin alone accounts for nearly 63 percent of that market, representing a dramatic comeback from late 2022, when the total market had plunged below $900 billion during the crypto winter.
What’s Driving the Surge?
Several forces are fueling the latest bull cycle, but the most immediate catalyst appears to be political.
On July 10, President Donald Trump launched another attack on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, renewing his calls for aggressive interest rate cuts. “Tech Stocks, Industrial Stocks, & NASDAQ, HIT ALL-TIME, RECORD HIGHS! CRYPTO Through the Roof,” Trump wrote in all caps on Truth Social. “FED SHOULD RAPIDLY LOWER RATE TO REFLECT THIS STRENGTH. NO INFLATION!!!”
Markets appear to be responding to Trump’s pressure. Lower interest rates reduce the cost of borrowing and typically increase liquidity in financial markets, conditions that favor risk-on assets like cryptocurrencies.
Even a stronger-than-expected jobs report showing 147,000 new non-farm payrolls in June, compared to forecasts of 110,000, wasn’t enough to cool investor appetite. Trump’s public push for monetary easing has encouraged markets to overlook hawkish signals and double down on crypto.
Bitcoin’s Cultural Moment
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