Bitcoin Surpasses $120,000 For The First Time Ever

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Topline

The price of bitcoin surpassed $120,000 for the first time late on Sunday, the latest milestone for the world’s most valuable cryptocurrency, which has continued to rally over the past few weeks alongside other top tokens.

Bitcoin surged past the $120,000 mark for the first time on Sunday night.

Key Facts

Bitcoin breached the $120,000 mark at around 11:42 p.m. EDT on Sunday night.

The token’s price rose to an all time high of more than $121,300 briefly before settling at around $120,720, up more than 2.5% in the past 24 hours.

The price of bitcoin has increased more than 29.3% since the start of the year, boosted by a post-inauguration surge before falling to a low of just over $75,000 in April.

The token’s price recovered in May and has hit new record highs since then amid anticipation of the Senate’s approval of the GENIUS Act.

Prices of other major crypto tokens have also surged in the past week, with Ether hitting $3042, up more than 18% in the past week, and Binance’s BNB hitting $698, up 5.7% in the past week.

As of late Sunday night, the crypto market appears unperturbed by President Donald Trump’s renewed tariff threats on trading partners, which have caused jitters in the equity markets.

Big Number

53. That’s how many days it took for the price of bitcoin to reach the $120,000 threshold after first surpassing $110,000 on May 21. It took 167 days for bitcoin to progress from $100,000 on Dec. 5, 2024, to $110,000, though President Donald Trump’s election win fueled a quick rise to $100,000: Bitcoin hit $80,000 for the first time on Nov. 11, 2024, before topping $90,000 two days later.

What Is The Genius Act?

The GENIUS Act introduces the first set of federal regulations for stablecoins, a form of cryptocurrency pegged to a stable asset like the U.S. dollar, with the goal of minimizing volatility. Some analysts have argued the GENIUS Act could make stablecoins a more trustworthy option among new investors, as stablecoins account for a potential $238 billion market, according to CoinDesk. New provisions under the bill would require companies issuing stablecoins to hold a reserve of assets to back the cryptocurrency, and for stablecoin issuers to prioritize coin holders for reimbursement or repayment if they go bankrupt.

Key Background

Bitcoin’s meteoric rise follows Trump’s Election Day victory, after Trump proposed during his campaign for the U.S. to become the “crypto capital of the planet.” He has said he would ease regulatory burdens facing the crypto industry, and has since announced the U.S. would establish a digital asset stockpile similar to its gold reserve. The latest surge for bitcoin comes as both the Nasdaq and S&P 500 reached new highs in recent weeks, as Nvidia became the first company to reach a $4 trillion market capitalization. Major crypto investments have also been announced by some companies, including GameStop’s $513 million bitcoin purchase in May and Trump Media and Technology Group, which announced it would raise $2.5 billion to establish a corporate bitcoin reserve.