Bitcoin Nears $100K, With Crypto Market Cap at Record $3.4T

BTC prices spiked above $99,200 early Friday, dipping to $98,600 before holding over $99,000 in Asian afternoon hours. Overall market capitalization stands at a record $3.4 trillion, adding 4.5% in the past 24 hours, mainly on BTC’s 2% jump (BTC is over 56% of the total market cap).

Spot BTC exchange-traded funds offered in the U.S. recorded over $1 billion in net inflows, data shows, led by BlackRock’s IBIT at $600 million in purchases. Fidelity’s FBTC recorded over $300 million inflows, with no outflows from any of the eleven ETFs.

Strength in BTC is leading to a rotation in other major tokens ahead of the weekend, buoyed by renewed bullish hopes about a crypto-friendly Trump administration that takes office in January.

Ether (ETH) is up nearly 9% in the past 24 hours, boosting various indexes that track the broader decentralized finance (DeFi) sector by at least 8%. Notable Ethereum-based memecoins such as mog (MOG) and pepe (PEPE) are up as much as 27% on their tendency to act as beta bets on ETH’s growth.

Solana’s SOL is up 8%, setting fresh highs above $260 amid exchange-trading fund (ETF) filings in the U.S. and continual usage of the blockchain for speculative trading. Cardano’s ADA is up 12%, the second-most gains among majors after XRP.

Elsewhere, XRP zoomed 25%, leading growth among major tokens, as SEC chair Gary Gensler announced he would step down in January, clearing headwinds for tokens related to U.S. companies.

Traders expect BTC prices to continue holding strong in the short term.

“We continue to see strong demand for BTC alongside further easing of monetary policy by global central banks, BTC prices are likely to remain supported as we approach the end of the year,” traders at QCP Capital said in a Friday broadcast. “Throughout the week, our desk observed aggressive demand in March and June Calls, signaling investors' long-term bullish sentiment for next year.”

Deribit's BTC futures expiring in March, June and September 2025 trade above $100,000. BTC call option at the $100,000 strike now boasts an open interest of over $2 billion, indicative of traders’ expectations of movement to the upside.

A short-term pullback from the $100,00 level can be expected, however, as multiple CoinDesk analyses noted earlier in the week.