Bitcoin roared past $79,000 Friday, sustaining the biggest run in years following positive regulatory news and an announcement from the U.S. Treasury.
The leading cryptocurrency hit as high as $79,319 before dipping slightly. It was recently priced at $77,584, a more than 7% rise over the past day. Over a seven-day period, the coin has shot up by close to 23%.
Bitcoin had spent most of July and June trading below $65,000. Some analysts had said that the bottom was likely in.
And it may just be in: Writing in a note Friday, Standard Chartered’s Global Head of Digital Assets Research, Geoffrey Kendrick, said that a $100,000 price forecast by year-end was too low.
“Once investors remember how quickly prices can accelerate to the topside, and we get past the 6 October date (12 months after the all-time high) an overshoot towards the all-time high (USD126k) before year-end may be possible,” he said.
He added that bitcoin’s bear market so far has been the shallowest on record. Analysts have pointed out that the coin’s volatility has been dampened this year.
Bitcoin notched a record last year of $126,080 but plunged soon after following the biggest liquidation event in the history of crypto. Over $19 billion in leveraged bets were closed, sending shockwaves through the market.
Since then, a number of factors have hurt bitcoin’s price, including the Federal Reserve being reluctant to lower interest rates and geopolitical headwinds such as war in the Middle East.
But recent positive regulatory news has helped the coin. While a vote on the long-awaited crypto Clarity Act has been delayed until September, President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that the bill was a “very, very powerful” piece of legislation, and urged lawmakers to get it over the line.
The proposed law will establish a framework for distinguishing between digital assets that are securities, commodities or payment stablecoins — legislation that the crypto industry has long called for.
And earlier this week, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the department would at least double the size of its long-dated bond buybacks. The news sent yields down lower; lower long-term yields reduces the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets like bitcoin and gold, and generally supports risk-on sentiment.