What BTC’s breach of the USD 100k mark means for the industry

Shortly after BTC broke the USD 100k mark, speculation over where the digital asset is heading next ran rampant. The cryptocurrency reached an all time high of USD 103.7k on Wednesday, though it has since fallen below the USD 100k mark to sit at USD 99.8k as of midnight last night. It has more than doubled in value this year, with a more than 50% increase in value over the past four weeks since Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election, Bloomberg reports. The total value of the crypto market has doubled to a record of over USD 3.8 tn, with BTC alone hitting a value of just shy of USD 2 tn.

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Trump’s pro-crypto agenda supercharged digital assets: The US president previously stated that he intends to make the US the “crypto capital of the planet” and to gather a national stockpile of BTC. He also nominated pro-crypto businessman Paul Atkins to serve as the chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The president-elect also recently launched a new decentralized finance venture — World Liberty Financial — for cryptocurrency trading.

Could the USD 100k milestone signal a new era for BTC? “BTC and the entire digital asset ecosystem are on the brink of entering the financial mainstream — this momentum is fuelled by institutional adoption, advancements in tokenization and payments, and a clearer regulatory path,” Mike Novogratz, founder and CEO of US crypto firm Galaxy Digital, told Reuters. Other experts also expect the momentum to continue.

Digital asset funds are taking over: Sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, and family offices have expressed plenty of interest in 2024 in BTC exchange traded funds (ETFs), as they generated over USD 76 bn in investments since their launch. “Roughly 3% of the total supply of bitcoins that will ever exist have been purchased in 2024 by institutional money,” global head of digital assets research at Standard Chartered, Geoff Kendrick, said.

Still, it is not all rosy in crypto’s future: Despite the recent rally, plenty of investors still believe that cryptocurrencies are too volatile and unpredictable to be a mainstream asset class, with long term price behaviour depending on larger market conditions. Cryptocurrencies have also been previously criticized for consuming large amounts of energy and their active use in crime around the world.

MEANWHILE– The World Bank approved a USD 100 bn replenishment package for the International Development Association (IDA), which includes a USD 23.7 bn joint contribution from some 59 donor countries, according to a statement (pdf). The record-high financing agreement will be dished out to support low-income countries over a three-year period (FY2025 – FY2028). IDA aims to reduce poverty and stimulate sustainable economic growth in low-income nations, with a focus on education, healthcare, infrastructure, and climate initiatives.

THE CLOSING BELL: TADAWUL-

The TASI rose 0.4% on Thursday on turnover of SAR 5.9 bn. The index is down 0.3% YTD.

In the green: Al Baha (+7.1%), Tamkeen (+4.6%) and Gaco (+4.1%).

In the red: Chubb (-3.6%), Riyadh Cables (-2.6%) and Retal (-2.5%).

THE CLOSING BELL: NOMU-

The NomuC rose 0.9% on Thursday on turnover of SAR 62.8 mn. The index is up 26% YTD.

In the green: Arabica (+30%), Dar AlMarkabah (+28%) and First Avenue (+13.6%).

In the red: Amwaj Int’l (-3.8%), UFG (-3.3%) and Asg (-3.3%).