(Bloomberg) — The total market value of cryptoassets surged past $4 trillion for the first time, driven by a rally in altcoins and momentum from a sweeping US legislative push to regulate the sector.
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The options market shows traders are increasing bets for even higher prices in the weeks ahead.
“Bitcoin’s path to $150,000 looks increasingly inevitable,” said Fadi Aboualfa, head of research at Copper. The original cryptocurrency accounts for about 60% of the entire digital market’s value.
The milestone followed the passage of the first-ever federal legislation for stablecoins, a key accomplishment during what lawmakers have dubbed “Crypto Week.” The bill, backed by Republicans and championed by President Donald Trump, introduces federal or state oversight of dollar-linked stablecoin, aiming to legitimize a $265 billion market that Citigroup Inc. analysts project could grow to $3.7 trillion by 2030.
Altcoins — a catch-all term for tokens besides Bitcoin — led the latest leg of the rally, with Ether jumping 22% over the past five days. Bitcoin, the industry’s benchmark asset, hit a record $123,205 earlier this week. Uniswap surged as much as 24% on Friday, while Solana gained 6.5% at one point.
Thursday also saw the House pass a broader crypto market structure bill, which now awaits Senate consideration.
Investors have continued to flood into US-listed crypto ETFs. Bitcoin funds have attracted $5.5 billion in inflows so far in July, while Ether ETFs brought in $2.9 billion.
“Since the launch of Bitcoin ETFs, we’ve seen a consistent pricing trend and the recent price surge is still in fact within the norms,” Aboualfa said. “If current inflows continue – even through the typically subdued summer period – we could see Bitcoin breach $140k by September, with a potential surge toward $150k in early October.”
Underlying demand for Bitcoin appears strong with elevated open interest in options at $130,000 for August 1 expiry, Deribit data shows. Bitcoin was little changed at about $119,570 on Friday.
—With assistance from Emily Nicolle.
(Updates prices.)
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