Bitcoin pushed to a two-month high, finally joining the rally in risk assets and precious metals after spending weeks stuck in a tight range. The move comes as investors bid up alternative assets, with geopolitics a supporting tailwind.<\/p>\n
The original digital asset rose as much as 2.4% to $96,348 early Wednesday in Singapore, its highest intra-day level since Nov. 16. Ether, the second-largest token, surged as much as 5.1%. In options markets, the rally has erased more than half a billion dollars in bearish crypto bets.<\/p>\n
Bitcoin slumped to a loss of more than 6% for 2025 after ending the year in muted fashion, trading in a narrow range and proving largely indifferent to rallies in stocks and precious metals. But the token has flashed signs of a potential breakout throughout January, and traders now see it potentially gaining ground on rival asset classes.<\/p>\n
\u201cMedium term, I think we could see investors allocate more to Bitcoin on a gold-catch-up narrative \u2014 and other risk-on assets are having a great time,\u201d said Justin d\u2019Anethan, head of research at Arctic Digital.<\/p>\n
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He pointed to a Tuesday report showing that underlying US inflation rose less than expected as a tailwind for the token, as well as tensions surrounding the US Federal Reserve, which was served with grand jury subpoenas from the Justice Department earlier this week. The Fed episode highlights \u201cthe value of safe-haven and hard assets\u201d over the US dollar, d\u2019Anethan said.<\/p>\n
Another factor is the \u201csharp short squeeze\u201d in Bitcoin derivatives markets, said Vincent Liu, chief investment officer at Kronos Research. Some $290 million of Bitcoin short positions have been liquidated in the past 24 hours, according to CoinGlass data. Across all cryptocurrencies, about $600 million of short positions were wiped out.<\/p>\n
Investors poured $754 million into the 12 US-listed Bitcoin exchange-traded funds on Tuesday, the most since Oct. 7, in a vote of confidence that the rally has further to go.<\/p>\n
A sustained break above $95,000 would open the way for a run at the $100,000 mark and \u201cpotentially the 200-day moving average, which currently stands at $106,115,\u201d Tony Sycamore, analyst at IG Australia, said in a note.<\/p>\n
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Broadly, traders view the current macro backdrop as positive for Bitcoin, said Joshua Lim, global co-head of markets at FalconX.<\/p>\n
Venezuela tensions, unrest in Iran, the Fed independence debate and MSCI\u2019s decision to shelve a plan to eject crypto-heavy firms like Strategy Inc. from major indexes amount to a \u201csteady drumbeat of positive macro developments\u201d for Bitcoin, he added.<\/p>\n
Bitcoin was trading at $94 787 as of 6:07 a.m. in London.<\/p>\n
\u00a9 2026 Bloomberg<\/p>\n
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