Bitcoin Breaks Records: Surpasses Its All-Time High

The largest and most well-known cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, reached a new all-time high of $111,861 on the morning of May 22, 2025. Bitcoin has been rising for seven consecutive weeks after briefly dipping below $75,000 at the end of March, influenced by the imposition of extensive tariffs by U.S. President Donald Trump.

For the first time in its more than 15-year history, Bitcoin has surpassed the $110,000 mark, which is considered very important by the community for continued growth. Since the beginning of the year, Bitcoin has risen by more than 18% against the U.S. dollar, and over the last year, it has increased by 58%. However, Bitcoin has not yet surpassed its all-time high against the Euro (€) due to the strong weakening of the dollar in recent months.

The new all-time high against the U.S. dollar comes at a time when the U.S. dollar is facing significant weakening due to multiple factors. Key reasons include the downgrading of the U.S. credit rating by Moody’s, rising trade tensions caused by new tariffs from the Trump administration, and concerns about the long-term sustainability of U.S. public finances.

Different from Previous Cycles

The current growth cycle for Bitcoin and the achievement of its new all-time high is different from previous cycles. While the cycle in 2020 and 2021, when Bitcoin reached $69,000, was driven primarily by low interest rates, massive money printing, and money giveaways during the pandemic, the current growth reflects a real and mature institutional interest in Bitcoin worldwide. From this perspective, it is not just a speculative price increase, as we have seen in previous cycles.

Demand for Bitcoin is driven by better access for institutions to Bitcoin, thanks to the launch of spot ETFs for Bitcoin in January 2024. The clearer regulatory environment, related to the change in the U.S. administration, where pro-crypto politicians who do not want to hinder innovation and development have taken key positions in important state institutions, also plays a significant role.

On the other hand, according to the Google Trends analytical platform, the search for the word “Bitcoin” remains at very low levels and has been on a declining trend since November 2024. From this perspective, it seems that retail investors are still not showing much interest in buying Bitcoin.

Experts from several renowned institutions indicate that growing demand, which will drive up the price in the medium term, could push Bitcoin to at least $160,000 by the last quarter of this year and up to $1 million by 2030.

Records on Derivatives Markets

Bitcoin has also broken an interesting record on the derivatives markets. The open interest volume (so-called Open Interest) on Bitcoin Futures contracts significantly increased at the beginning of this week and surpassed the record maximum, raising questions about whether the market is becoming slightly overleveraged.

The total open interest volume on Bitcoin futures contracts rose to $72 billion, representing an 8% increase compared to $66.6 billion recorded just a week before. The rise in Bitcoin’s price above $110,000 caused massive short liquidations and partially cleaned up the market from overleveraging.

The new record on the derivatives markets comes at a time of strong growth in spot markets, with Bitcoin holding above $100,000 for more than 11 days – which is seen by some experts as a sign of accumulation and strength at current levels.

Source: Coinglass

Fear and Greed Index Rising, Altcoins Still Lagging

The cryptocurrency Fear & Greed Index reached 72 points out of 100 on Thursday, indicating a greed zone. The rise in the index is undoubtedly due to the improved market sentiment related to the new all-time high. However, the index is still lower than it was at the beginning of 2025 after Donald Trump’s inauguration, when it was at 84 points out of 100.

On the other hand, the Altcoin Season Index currently stands at just 18 points out of 100 – indicating the continuing Bitcoin growth season, during which altcoins are lagging. This level has historically been seen several times, and each time it was followed by an altcoin season, during which altcoins outperformed Bitcoin’s growth for a certain period. This was the case, for example, in 2020 and 2021, when during Bitcoin’s rise, this index was as low as 8 points out of 100, but over time altcoins started to strengthen, leading to the largest altcoin season in cryptocurrency history.

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