Bitcoin (BTC) Soars to New All-Time High of $96,958.87, Crypto Market Cap Crosses $3.2 Trillion

The cryptocurrency market, boosted by the Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and their new options market, rallied to touch a new all-time high and cross USD 96,000.

Boosted by the Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and their new options market, the cryptocurrency market rallied to touch a new all-time high, crossing USD 96,000 on Thursday.

According to CoinGecko, crypto has a market cap of USD 3.2 trillion. Bitcoin (BTC) soared almost five per cent over the past 24 hours to touch another all-time high of USD 96,958.87 Thursday morning IST. Ethereum (ETH) and Tether (USDT) were flat, while Solana (SOL) gained 1.3 per cent.

On Nov 19, the US's Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) approved spot Bitcoin ETF options launch. BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) options recorded nearly USD two billion in notional exposure. Balaji Srihari, business head, CoinSwitch calls the IBIT listing on Nasdaq "a big sign of increasing crypto adoption."

In the bullish backdrop, MicroStrategy's Michael Saylor said he plans to pitch Microsoft on adding Bitcoin to its treasury.

"The anticipation of faster regulatory clarity coupled with BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF options projecting a USD 176k price target by 2026 has driven BTC's price to the USD 95K milestone," said Edul Patel, co-founder and CEO, Mudrex on the earlier ATH.

Concurs Srihari, "Since the recent U.S. election, Bitcoin has been consistently setting new records, encouraged by expectations of a more supportive regulatory framework and a potential national Bitcoin reserve; that can legitimize Bitcoin as a government-backed asset."

Grayscale and Bitwise Bitcoin ETFs options are expected to launch in the near future, signaling further expansion of Bitcoin's presence in the financial mainstream.

Bitcoin has more than doubled in value this year, with a remarkable 40 per cent increase in just the past two weeks. "Since Trump's victory, the broader crypto market has added over USD 800 billion in value, signaling a bullish outlook for Bitcoin and digital assets in general. As the market continues to heat up, Bitcoin is on track to reach new all-time highs, with the USD 100,000 mark now in sight," said Sumit Gupta, co-founder, CoinDCX.

Apart from Bitcoin, altcoins such as Dogecoin, USD Coin, Cardano, Wrapped Bitcoin, Cronos, Monero, Floki Inu, Underdog, Iota, Braintrust, and Binance USD also saw a price surge.

The overall crypto market cap grew by 2.18 per cent in the last 24 hours, as per CoinMarketCap.