Bitcoin Reaches Historic High

Bitcoin (BTC) has made history by surpassing the $100,000 mark for the first time. As of 2:43 PM on Dec. 5, BTC was trading at $102,235.23, up 6.24% from the previous day, according to CoinMarketCap. This remarkable surge represents a 49.24% increase within a month following the election of U.S. President Donald Trump early last month.

Factors Driving the Surge

The journey to this unprecedented price point has been driven by a combination of factors, including increased institutional interest, legislative proposals, and a significant rise in Bitcoin's hashrate. Unlike the bull market of 2021, where existing whales were the primary buyers, the current market is characterized by the emergence of new whales. Ju Ki-young, CEO of on-chain data analysis firm CryptoQuant, noted, "In 2021, existing whales continuously accumulated BTC, but in 2024, new whales are purchasing BTC."

Institutional Inflows and Network Security

The sharp increase in custodian wallet holdings this year supports this analysis. Custodian wallets, primarily used by institutional investors for over-the-counter (OTC) transactions, have seen overwhelming inflows. CEO Ju explained, "The inflow of custodian wallet holdings has increased overwhelmingly," adding, "This indicates a reshuffling of Bitcoin's shareholder registry." This shift suggests that institutions pursuing strategic investments are emerging as new whales, unlike the previously individual-centric whales.

Bitcoin's hashrate has also seen a significant increase, standing at 818.58 exahashes per second (EH/s) as of the same time. This marks an approximately 380% increase compared to the 170 EH/s during the bull market in November 2021. The hashrate represents the computational power required for Bitcoin mining, and a higher hashrate indicates more miners are participating, thereby strengthening the security of the Bitcoin network. Ju commented, "Bitcoin's network defense against hacking attempts such as 51% attacks has improved."

Government Involvement and Expert Outlook

The diversity of participants in the Bitcoin ecosystem is expanding beyond traditional financial firms like BlackRock to include government-level involvement. President-elect Trump has pledged to stockpile BTC as a strategic asset for the U.S., and on Aug. 5, Senator Cynthia Lummis introduced a bill for the government to purchase 1 million BTC. Additionally, a Brazilian congressman proposed a bill last month for a BTC reserve worth 25 trillion won.

This ecosystem strengthening has led to optimistic outlooks from industry experts. Mike Novogratz, CEO of Galaxy Digital, stated, "We are witnessing a paradigm shift," adding, "Bitcoin and the digital asset ecosystem are on the verge of entering the mainstream financial market." He continued, "With a pro-virtual asset government in power in the U.S., other countries around the world are also paying attention to this sector." Benchmark Company's analyst Mark Palmer also predicted, "BTC is likely to become a mainstream investment destination as it is included in institutional portfolios," and projected that "in this case, it could rise to $225,000 by the end of 2026."

The rise of Bitcoin to over $100,000 marks significant growth in the virtual asset ecosystem over the past three years. The strengthened fundamentals, increased institutional participation, and enhanced network security suggest that Bitcoin's long-term upward trend is likely to continue. As the digital asset ecosystem continues to evolve, the integration of Bitcoin into the mainstream financial market appears increasingly imminent.