Bitcoin Breaks the $96K Barrier: What’s Driving This Surge?

In Brief

• Bitcoin surged past $96,000 in early May, rebounding 28% from April's $75,000 bottom and reaching its strongest position since February's steep correction.
• Analysts attribute Bitcoin's price appreciation to institutional interest, including major purchases by treasury companies like Strategy and Metaplanet, coupled with steady capital inflows through ETFs.
• Industry experts express optimistic forecasts, suggesting Bitcoin is transitioning from a speculative asset to an essential component in institutional portfolios with the potential to reach the psychological $100,000 threshold.

Bitcoin surged past $96,000 as May opened, reaching levels not seen since February's steep correction when President Donald Trump’s aggressive U.S. trade policies began to trigger declines. Bitcoin has rebounded 21% from its February low of $78,900 and 28% from early April's $75,000 bottom. The surge past the $96,000 price mark represents Bitcoin's strongest position since the price decline trend began the last week of February.

"Bitcoin's recent price appreciation is the result of long-term momentum rather than a temporary phenomenon," Ryan Yoon, lead research analyst at Tiger Research, told Decrypt.

He noted that Bitcoin is now transitioning from a speculative asset to an essential component in institutional investor portfolios. Key factors, according to Yoon, include consistent purchasing from BTC treasury companies such as Strategy. On Monday, the firm approached the limits of its equity program with another buy, after having bought $1.4 billion worth of Bitcoin the week before. Additionally, Japanese Bitcoin treasury company Metaplanet, which has amassed $481 million worth of Bitcoin, announced it is opening a U.S. subsidiary.

These factors, coupled with steady capital inflows through ETFs, demonstrate sustained institutional interest. However, other industry observers maintain a cautiously optimistic forecast.

"After bottoming at $75,000, BTC is in the process of decoupling from other risk assets and moving back to an alternate store of value," Andrew Lawrence, chief and co-founder of BTC meme coin DEX Funkybit, told Decrypt. "I expect significantly higher prices from here, given the uncertain global monetary outlook," Lawrence added.

Still, there's an expectation of expanded liquidity, Yoon noted. This, combined with the psychological 'round number effect' of $100,000, has driven up market sentiment and fueled the ongoing recovery.

At the time of writing, Bitcoin is changing hands at roughly $96,200, with volume ramping up $7 billion from the previous day's $23 billion.