Bitcoin traded around $116,000 on Tuesday, falling back from a historic surge that briefly sent the world's largest cryptocurrency past $123,000 for the first time.
Even with the pullback, the cryptocurrency is still trading at nearly twice its level from a year ago.
Unlike previous cycles, the record run isn't being driven by retail mania or meme-stock energy. This move is being powered by structural demand, shifting macro positioning and a wave of Wall Street adoption that's playing out in real time.
Spot Bitcoin ETFs pulled in $2.7 billion last week, including nearly $1.3 billion in a single day — the second-largest inflow session on record. BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust alone now holds nearly $90 billion in assets, placing it among the 20 largest ETFs in the country, according to Bloomberg Intelligence.
Altogether, U.S.-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs now manage more than $153 billion — a figure that stood at zero just 18 months ago.
That demand is tightening supply and reinforcing bitcoin's status as a mainstream macro asset. Financial advisors, sovereign wealth funds, and corporate treasuries are allocating at a record pace. Holdings by public companies rose 23% last quarter to $91 billion, according to Bitwise.
Firms like GameStop and Trump Media are following the Michael Saylor playbook and treating bitcoin as a strategic reserve, with President Donald Trump's company planning to buy $2.5 billion worth of bitcoin.
Meanwhile, a wave of reverse mergers — backed by SoftBank, Cantor Fitzgerald, and others — is turning dormant companies into bitcoin holding vehicles. New entrants like ProCap, which just raised more than $750 million and plans to hold up to $1 billion in bitcoin, are rushing to go public through SPACs, adding fuel to what some are already calling a bitcoin treasury bubble.