Bitcoin passed the six-figure mark for the first time in more than two months, and entered the $104,000 hair range early on Saturday.
Dogecoin (DOGE) led altcoin gains with a 10% rally, while ether (ETH) rose 3.5% following the successful implementation of its long-awaited Pectra upgrade, bringing weekly gains over 30%.Other majors including Solana (SOL), Cardano (ADA), xrp (XRP) and BNB Chain’s BNB rose between 2-6%, driven by a shift in investor sentiment from caution to risk-on.
The move follows this week’s development of a series of procrypts in the US. On Wednesday, New Hampshire passed the bill, allowing the state to create a strategic Bitcoin reserve. Arizona followed suit with its own laws in favour of crypto-protected sanctuaries a day later. The momentum at the state level is as political leaders are leaning even further towards digital asset policies ahead of the November election.
President Donald Trump’s bullish remarks about future US-China trade negotiations have also helped ease market anxiety. The comments coincided with the US and the UK signing a fresh trade agreement that removes retrograde tariffs and obligations.
“President Trump’s optimistic outlook on China’s trade talks this weekend eases fears about the spread of the trade war and encourages traders to return to asset classes like cryptocurrency.” “This could potentially bring Bitcoin back to history’s highest and potentially outweigh it.”
BTC is about 5% below its January high, which exceeded its record high of $108,700 on Saturday, as of European morning.
According to analysts, the recent moves mark a critical break from the sluggish price action that has plagued Altcoins throughout much of March and April.
“We believe that the second wind that Trapes could have finally been discovered as a hedge against market uncertainty,” Nick Ruck, director of LVRG Research told Coindesk in a telegram chat.
This week’s 30% Ethereum gathering is attributed to the growing institutional interest and the momentum behind its Pectra upgrade, which introduces years of executive reform aimed at increasing efficiency and scalability.
“This upgrade provides the reforms Ethereum desperately needed to strengthen its position as a major chain amidst the growth of the competition,” said May of BTSE. “We have seen considerable advantages over the coming weeks and months, especially as we fear the ease of macros and are willing to fear that the system will be assigned to crypto and crypto ETFs.”
Still, traders are closely watching US-China trade negotiations this weekend. The talk is scheduled to begin in Switzerland later on Saturday, and signs of a deadlock or new tension could undermine the current rally.