Bitcoin rose to its highest level on record on Wednesday, eclipsing the previous high from January, as risk sentiment continues to improve after last month’s tariff-induced selloff.

The world’s largest cryptocurrency touched a high above $111 000 and was last trading at $111 388. It also topped R2-million for only the second time in history. It was last trading at R1.98-million/coin.

Its ascent was driven by a combination of factors including easing trade tension between the US and China and Moody’s downgrade of US sovereign debt, which has prompted investors to seek alternative investment sources to the dollar.

“Now that January’s high has been surpassed — and the 50% upside from April’s lows has been achieved — bitcoin enters blue-sky territory with tailwinds in the form of institutional momentum and a favourable US regulatory environment,” Antoni Trenchev, co-founder of digital asset trading platform Nexo, said in an e-mailed comment.

Bitcoin at times trades in a similar fashion to tech stocks and other assets that rise in value when investor sentiment is high. The tech-heavy Nasdaq is up 30% from its early April low.

That has also coincided with continued weakness in the dollar, a further boost for bitcoin’s exchange rate against the US currency.

Volatility threat

Crypto market participants often point to increased involvement from traditional financial firms as reasons for its gains. This week they have referenced JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, a longtime crypto sceptic, who said the bank will let clients buy bitcoin. Earlier this month, crypto exchange Coinbase was added to the S&P 500 index.

“We’re still in year four of the bitcoin price cycle — the year after the bitcoin halving when miner rewards are slashed in half — which historically means its best days are still ahead of it and, while macro uncertainty and the threat of further volatility remains, a target of $150 000 in 2025 is still very much on the cards,” Trenchev said.

Read: Huge crypto exchange hit by cyberattack

Meanwhile, ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency, surprisingly did not rise in tandem with bitcoin. It was last down 0.5% at $2 513. — Samuel Indyk, Alun John and Gertrude Chavez Dreyfuss, (c) 2025 Reuters

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