Bitcoin has achieved a remarkable milestone by breaking above $125,000 for the first time in its 17-year history. During Asia trading hours, the price surged to this new record high, supported by nearly $50 billion in trading volume over the previous 24 hours, as reported by CoinGecko. This surge prompted a wave of buying, leading to nearly $100 million in short positions being liquidated within just one hour, according to CoinGlass. Over the same period, more than $200 million worth of Bitcoin shorts were forced to buy into the market.
The price surge can be attributed to a combination of favorable macroeconomic factors and increasing institutional interest in Bitcoin. Analysts have pointed out that this growing appetite for the digital asset is likely to continue, despite indications of a potential market slowdown earlier in the week. Joe DiPasquale, CEO of crypto asset manager BitBull Capital, commented that the overall market setup remains bullish, particularly with the prospect of a prolonged government shutdown potentially driving interest toward hard assets like Bitcoin, which is often viewed as a viable alternative store of value.
The rally continued as the U.S. trading day progressed, although it began to stall as some traders opted to take profits just under the previous all-time high of $124,128. However, bullish sentiment prevails. Analysts at Standard Chartered, a prominent British multinational bank, have long supported Bitcoin’s upward trajectory and remain optimistic. Geoff Kendrick, the bank’s global head of digital assets, projected that Bitcoin could reach at least $135,000 in the near term and possibly exceed $200,000 by the end of the year.
In line with these rising expectations, users on the Myriad prediction market, developed by Decrypt’s parent company Dastan, had already forecast that Bitcoin would achieve the $125,000 milestone, offering odds above 90% on that prediction. Current sentiments suggest that users on Myriad expect Bitcoin to outperform Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, during the month of October.
