Bitcoin continued its winning streak on Friday, scaling another all-time-high on July 11, as institutional investors powered demand amid friendly policies of US President Donald Trump's administration.
Bitcoin prices breached the $116,000 mark earlier in the day for the first time ever and continued to move up as demand soared, according to reports by Reuters and Bloomberg.
The world's largest cryptocurrency rose to a peak of $116,781.10 in the Asian session on Friday, as per a Reuters report.
As Bitcoin moved past $116,000 for the first time, the open interest, or the number of outstanding contracts on the Deribit exchange, has become concentrated around Bitcoin call options with $115,000 and $120,000 strike prices, Bloomberg reported.
Bitcoin has rallied more than 24 per cent this year, a sharp turn from the once-dwindling prices the cryptocurrency faced a some months back.
Bullish comments by President Donald Trump over his Truth Social social media site helped to fuel the optimism Thursday.
Bitcoin's fresh peak comes amid the broader rally in risk assets that has also sent stocks to all-time highs.
The rally is due in part to expectations of rising demand from a spate of recently launched crypto treasury companies, Bloomberg reported quoting Mauricio Di Bartolomeo, co-founder and CSO of Ledn.
Bitcoin back in demand on Trump policies
Donald Trump in March had signed an executive order to form a strategic reserve of cryptocurrencies, taking tokens such as Bitcoin up for a rally.
The US President also appointed crypto-friendly individuals in various roles, including Securities and Exchange Commission Paul Atkins and White House artificial intelligence czar David Sacks.
The week of July 14 has also been declared “crypto week” by a Congressional committee in the US
Donald Trump's family businesses have also made their forays into cryptocurrencies.
According to a SEC filing on Tuesday, Trump Media & Technology Group is on the way to launch an exchange-traded fund to invest in multiple crypto tokens including Bitcoin.
Ether jumps over 5 per cent
Ether, the world's second-largest cryptocurrency, similarly jumped more than 5 per cent to last trade at $2,964.02, after earlier hitting a five-month high of $2,998.41.
(With inputs from Reuters and Bloomberg)