Bitcoin’s latest blistering rally has had the market on tenterhooks waiting for the world’s largest cryptocurrency to surpass $100,000 for the first time.
But the digital currency failed to clinch the lofty target by a whisker after topping out just below $99,600 at the end of last week.
The BTC/USD pair ended up falling more than 1.2% on Friday and while incremental gains were penned over the weekend, the pair is now trending closer to $98,300.
However, bitcoin could see a burst of activity when US institutional traders spur into life this Monday.
Bitcoin gained unprecedented institutional support following the emergence of spot-bitcoin exchange-traded funds earlier this year, with the ETF market ballooning to more than $30 billion of bitcoin under management at the time of writing.
This has given the likes of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) and Fidelity greater influence over the bitcoin spot markets, which could either help or hinder bitcoin’s journey to $100,000.
Donald Trump’s sweeping election victory proved to be another major tailwind for bitcoin, with the so-called ‘Trump trade’ pushing BTC/USD more than 40% since 5 November.
Trump promised a raft of pro-crypto policies in his campaign, including the removal of crypto-sceptic Securities and Exchange Commission SEC) chair Gary Gensler, which has already materialised.
Whether or not bitcoin is able to win $100,000 before 2024 closes could play out this week, as the bulls attempt to prove there is still some Trump trade juice left in the tank.
Bitcoin’s year-to-date performance – Source: tradingview.com