Bitcoin ($BTC) recently hit a major milestone, surpassing silver’s market capitalisation and earning the rank of the world’s eight largest asset.
According to Companies Market Cap, Bitcoin’s total value reached $1.756 trillion, putting it in league with some of the biggest names in global finance.
This boost has largely been driven by optimism around spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), showing Bitcoin’s growing appeal not just as a digital currency but as a serious asset class alongside gold, stocks, and other major assets.
Bitcoin’s rise in the asset rankings was made possible by a sharp price jump. Its value spiked to over $89,000 in a single day, a new all-time high for the coin and a boost of 11.3%, while silver, in comparison, dropped by 2%.
This rally moved Bitcoin up the list of the world’s most valuable assets, leaving it just behind heavyweights like gold, Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and Saudi Aramco.
Market analysts see this as a sign that Bitcoin is being recognised as a valuable asset, not just a digital token.
As The Kobessi Letter, a popular capital markets newsletter, put it, “The fact that gold is still 10 TIMES larger than Bitcoin is incredible. Not only does this show how big gold is, but it also shows how big Bitcoin can be”.
The role of institutional interest
Bitcoin’s rapid growth has coincided with rising interest from large financial players. Following Donald Trump’s recent US election win, markets expect the new government to be more favourable towards digital assets, especially if Republicans take control of both legislative houses.
This hopeful outlook has boosted Bitcoin by 27% in the past week, with other cryptocurrencies experiencing even larger gains.
One clear example of growing institutional interest is BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust, which saw a remarkable $4.5 billion in trading volume in a single day. This strong trading activity highlights how Bitcoin is gaining traction among major investors.
Similarly, MicroStrategy, a US software company that holds large amounts of Bitcoin, saw its stock price jump by 25%, reaching a record high.
On Monday, the company revealed that it had acquired an additional 27,200 $BTC, bringing its total holdings to 279,420 $BTC, currently valued at about $24.5 billion.
The “Bitcoin industrial complex”, which includes Bitcoin ETFs, MicroStrategy, and Coinbase, reached a record trading volume of $38 billion. However, Bitcoin still has a long way to go to match gold’s massive market cap.
While Bitcoin’s value has surged more than 100% this year, analysts say it would need to multiply tenfold to equal gold’s size. Senior ETF analyst, Eric Balchunas, noted this impressive volume as another indicator of the high interest in Bitcoin from traditional financial circles.
Market volatility and possible corrections
Bitcoin’s recent surge brought some price instability, causing significant market liquidations.
After reaching $89,000 in early trading, Bitcoin quickly dropped to around $87,000, sparking liquidations worth $700 million across crypto futures markets.
This amount was split between bullish (or long) and bearish (or short) traders, with short sellers facing the largest losses at $380 million.
The broader crypto market also felt the ripple effects. For instance, Dogecoin ($DOGE) spiked over 40% to approach 41 cents, driven by renewed excitement about Donald Trump’s possible positive influence on the digital asset market.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin-tracked futures experienced more than $200 million in short liquidations, with Ethereum futures seeing $40 million in similar losses.
Other major tokens, including Solana ($SOL) and Aptos ($APT), also saw substantial liquidations of over $25 million each—far higher than typical levels.
The spike in volatility has led to annualised funding rates on some altcoin-tracked futures reaching over 30%, according to Coinglass data.
While some traders are optimistic that Bitcoin could reach $100,000 by the end of the year, others urge caution.
Analysts have warned of a possible “leverage washout” above the $90,000 level, with some expecting a slowdown if prices hit a certain threshold.
K33 Research’s head of research, Vetle Lunde, highlighted Bitcoin’s extraordinary recent performance, noting that its seven-day return is the best since the US banking crisis earlier this year.
In a recent post, he wrote, “Bitcoin’s market cap has grown by a staggering $413bn in the past week!” The banking crisis in March 2023, which saw the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and the liquidation of Silvergate Bank, was a turning point for Bitcoin’s price growth.
As BitMEX co-founder, Arthur Hayes, has suggested, financial uncertainty pushed more investors towards Bitcoin, strengthening its appeal as a “safe-haven” asset during economic instability.
