Bitcoin Hits New All-Time High Above $120k, as IBIT Becomes Fastest Growing ETF

Bitcoin broke through US$120k to reach a new all-time high of US$120,947, gaining over 10% in the past week after trading in a narrow range.
Analysts believe the bull run continues as there are no signs of market overheating, with CryptoQuant noting “excessive selling from profitable short-term holders” and cool sentiment.
The price surge reflects Bitcoin’s evolution into a macro asset serving as a hedge against US deficit spending rather than just speculative hype, according to 10X Research.
BlackRock’s IBIT ETF reached US$80 billion in assets under management in just 374 days, while US Bitcoin ETFs now hold 6.039% of all coins for the first time.

Bitcoin has just broken through the US$120k (AU$182.8k) mark and set a new high at US$120,947 (AU$184,278). After trading in a narrow band for weeks, it has recorded several new all-time highs (ATHs) over the past week and gained over 10% during that period. Despite the new high, it doesn’t look like the bull run is over.

Analysts at CryptoQuant said there are no signs that the market is overheated and there is currently “excessive selling from profitable short-term holders”, adding that “the data shows the sentiment is still cool”.

Analysts at 10X Research said in a recent note that the latest ATHs aren’t mere speculative hype but a fundamental shift in the role of BTC – as investors increasingly view it as a hedge against massive US deficit spending and a looming debt-ceiling increase.

Instead, Bitcoin has become a macro asset—a hedge against unchecked deficit spending.

10X Research

Key near-term catalysts, including a Trump crypto policy report on 22 July and the 30 July FOMC meeting, may cement Bitcoin’s emergence as a macro asset rather than a mere blockchain technology play, the analysts added.

Related: Australia’s Crypto Moment: Why AUD Stablecoins Matter

US Spot Bitcoin ETFs Also Break Records

Another big driver of the Bitcoin price are of course the spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and especially the US funds, which account for the largest amount of BTC held in ETFs.

One ETF in particular stands out: BlackRock’s IBIT. As reported last week, IBIT has broken records with its accumulation of over 700k BTC. Now, with the new ATH, it broke another record, it just reached US$80 billion (AU$121 billion) in assets under management.

And it has done this in record time. It took IBIT just 374 days to get to that sum, shattering the previous record held by the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, which took 1,814 days.

While we’re at record breaking news, the number of BTC held by the US ETFs has also made a new high. The ETFs currently hold 6.039% of all coins, a level reached for the first time.

That’s 1,268,094 BTC currently valued at US$153 billion or AU$233 billion.