Investing.com-- Bitcoin soared to fresh record highs on Friday, nearing $119,000, propelled by robust institutional interest and crypto-friendly policies under U.S. President Donald Trump.
The world’s largest cryptocurrency last traded up 6.1% to $117,630.0 as of 09:57 ET (13:57 GMT), pulling back slightly after registering a new all-time high of $118,790.
Bitcoin was set for its third consecutive weekly gain.
ETF inflows surge on institutional demand
Trading volumes surged, with on-chain data showing heightened activity and a jump in spot trading volumes.
U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs saw $1.18 billion in net inflows as of Thursday, marking their sixth straight day of sharp gains, according to SoSoValue.
BlackRock’s IBIT led the charge with $448.5 million in inflows. Fidelity’s FBTC, Bitwise’s BITB also recorded additional net inflows.
Total trading volume across the 12 bitcoin ETFs hit $6.3 billion, the highest daily level since late May.
Institutional adoption, legislative optimism boost crypto
The milestones come amid growing demand from institutional investors for moving bitcoin into treasury portfolios and ETFs.
President Trump’s administration, earlier this year, approved a strategic Bitcoin reserve, stoking a favorable regulatory tone.
Furthermore, Trump’s family business, Trump Media & Technology Group (NASDAQ:DJT), recently filed for regulatory approvals to launch a new "Crypto Blue Chip ETF" later this year. The company has already filed for two ETFs earlier this month.
Looking ahead, investors are also focused on “Crypto Week” starting July 14, when U.S. lawmakers in Washington are expected to push forward at least three major bills aimed at regulating digital assets.
Crypto stocks rise after Bitcoin’s leap
Crypto-related stocks rose higher following the Friday market open as Bitcoin inked new record highs.
Strategy (NASDAQ:MSTR), the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, gained over 2%, while BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (NASDAQ:IBIT) jumped around 4%. Shares of Coinbase Global (NASDAQ:COIN) advanced 2.5% but later lost those gains.
In Europe, Blockchain Group (EPA:ALTBG), which is also building a Bitcoin treasury, jumped nearly 10%.
Bitcoin mining stocks saw notable gains in pre-market trading. Marathon Digital Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:MARA) rose 1.7%, and HIVE Digital Technologies Ltd (NASDAQ:HIVE) advanced 3.7%.
Crypto price today: altocins surge, Cardano up 20%
Most altcoins also surged on Friday, tracking optimism around the biggest cryptocurrency’s record run.
World no.2 crypto Ethereum jumped 8% to $2,991.50.
World no. 3 crypto XRP surged nearly 15% to $2.78.
Solana rose 5.5%, and Cardano added almost 20%, while Polygon surged 12.4%.
Among meme tokens, Dogecoin climbed 12.7%, while $TRUMP leaped 9.5%.
