Bitcoin has broken through the $US100,000 mark, a watershed moment for the once-dismissed asset and one that is sending euphoria through enthusiasts in Australia and across the world.
On Thursday afternoon, bitcoin had rallied 7.0 per cent in the past 24 hours to trade at $US102,600, or just over $A160,000 on Australian exchanges.
The immediate catalyst for the move seemed to be US president-elect Donald Trump announcing overnight he would nominate crypto advocate Paul Atkins to chair the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The regulatory body has not been friendly to crypto institutions under current leadership but that looks set to change.
"Market participants are beginning to realise that not only is the digital asset industry no longer under attack, it now has the support of the incoming administration of the USA," said Mark Carnegie, founder and executive chairman of Sydney-based crypto investment platform MHC Digital Group.
Mr Carnegie said this change of tone was not yet priced in and could see a huge re-rating of bitcoin and all digital assets as they became an integral part of the world's financial system.
EToro market analyst Josh Gilbert said bitcoin reaching six figures was no small feat and showed the global adoption of the asset.
"For investors, this move higher doesn’t seem to be done for the year just yet, thanks to the powerful momentum currently driving this bull market," Mr Gilbert said.
EToro has seen trading on bitcoin at just half of what the platform saw in November 2021, suggesting there was still a wave of retail investors ready to jump back into the market, Mr Gilbert said.
Bitcoin has nearly quadrupled in price in the past 14 months after going through a tough stretch from mid-2022 to October 2023, but Mr Gilbert said judging from the past, it still seems reasonably early in this bull market.
"Drawdowns for bitcoin are par for the course, but it feels like it's going to take something big to slow down bitcoin right now," he said.
Jonathan de Wet, chief investment officer with Melbourne-based crypto trading firm Zerocap, said bitcoin at $US100,000 was a watershed moment and the firm expected further buoyancy.
Other catalysts for the original cryptocurrency's rise include US Senator Cynthia Lummis promoting a plan for the US Treasury to purchase up to 1 million bitcoin as part of a US strategic reserve of the asset, Mr de Wet said.
He also cited huge bitcoin holder Microstrategy's pursuit of becoming a "bitcoin bank".
"These factors all play into further institutional adoption, and that’s before the retirement funds have begun allocating, which could happen in the coming years should the adoption curve continue," he said.
Kraken head of strategy Thomas Perfumo said there was nothing particularly "crazy" about the market action.
"You have explosive demand for a commodity whose supply is fixed and does not respond to price signals," he said, referring to the fact that bitcoin's supply is fixed at 21 million, 94 per cent of which have already been mined.
"In traditional commodities like oil or precious metals, we’d see companies that refine and mine these resources increase production to satisfy demand," he said, adding that bitcoin's supply currently grows at an annualised rate of just 0.8 per cent and will only trend downward from here.
Jason Titman, the chief executive of Brisbane-based crypto brokerage Swyftx, said local crypto-asset trading was up fivefold since Mr Trump's win, and lots of Aussie bitcoiners would now be telling their mates, "I told you so".
"The sky is the limit for bitcoin now," he said. "We started the year with BlackRock and other large investment funds entering the crypto market.
"We’ve ended it on the verge of sensible regulation in the US. You could not have sat down and scripted a better scenario ... The crypto summer is back and it’s back with a bang."
