Bitcoin continues to dominate the crypto market, maintaining a 56% market share as global capitalization climbs to $3.8 trillion.
The market rally, fueled by institutional interest and favorable regulatory developments, was further triggered by Bitcoin crossing the $100,000 mark for the first time and its consolidation as a flagship digital asset.
Bitcoin (BTC) surpassed the $100,000 mark on Wednesday evening, peaking at $103,000, according to CoinGecko data.
This rise represents a 120% increase from its price at the start of the year, when it was trading just above $44,000. With a market capitalization exceeding $2 trillion, Bitcoin now ranks as the 7th largest asset in the world, according to Companies Market Cap.
There is now only a narrow margin between that and the $2.1 trillion market capitalization of Google parent Alphabet. The rest of the list includes Amazon, Microsoft, Nvidia, Apple and Gold.
“Bitcoin crossing the $100,000 mark is supported by high volumes and shallow post-election corrections,” said Aurélie Barthere, senior research analyst at Nansen. Decrypt. “December’s positive seasonality should prevent significant corrections for now, with buyers dominating sellers in a buy-the-dip mentality.”
The rally coincides with growing optimism surrounding U.S. regulatory changes, particularly the nomination of cryptocurrency-friendly Paul Atkins as the next chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission by President-elect Donald Trump.
“We reported this as one of the expected positive news for crypto,” Barthere added.
Bitcoin’s dominance at 56% highlights its continued market leadership, even as meme coins see significant gains. Dogecoin (DOGE) led the blue chip coin charge with a 6.7% jump to $0.44.
Pepe coin (PEPE) and Shiba Inu (SHIB) also rebounded, with gains of 4.7% and 4.5%, respectively, according to CoinGecko data.
Arthur Azizov, CEO of B2BINPAY, attributed this dominance to Bitcoin’s major role in driving market dynamics.
“Donald Trump announcing pro-crypto Paul Atkins as SEC chairman allowed Bitcoin to finally break the psychological barrier of $100,000, setting a new all-time high (ATH) above $104,000” , Azizov said. Decrypt. “Since November 5, its value has jumped an impressive 54%, a remarkable performance by any measure.”
Institutional investors have played a key role in the Bitcoin price rally, with ETFs seeing over $1 billion in inflows in recent weeks. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) has surpassed $50 billion in assets under management, reaching this milestone five times faster than any other ETF in history.
Azizov added that while Bitcoin has yet to see a significant correction, a pullback is likely.
“Bitcoin has not yet seen a significant correction. On this basis, it is reasonable to conclude that a pullback is likely imminent – it is only a matter of time,” Azizov said. “By the end of the year, I believe the Bitcoin price will consolidate around $100,000 before returning to five-digit levels.”
Edited by Stacy Elliott.
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