Bitcoin hit a fresh all-time high, rising to $97,852 on Binance. The cryptocurrency is up 5% in the last 24 hours and has gained an impressive 43% in the last 16 days since November 5. The momentum shows no signs of slowing down as the BTC price continues its steady rise. There are several key factors contributing to this extraordinary rally:

#1 Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Trading Company in the US

After Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election, market sentiment has changed significantly. The initial “Trump trade” has evolved into the “US Bitcoin reserves trade,” fueled by speculation that President-elect Trump may establish a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve (SBR). This is in line with his pledge made at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville.

Industry insiders such as David Bailey, CEO of BTC Inc and an advisor to the Trump campaign, and Dennis Porter, CEO of the Satoshi Act Fund, have pointed to the possibility of SBR becoming a reality. Both are calling for the creation of the SBR within the first 100 days of Trump’s presidency via executive order. They warn that the United States may fall behind in the global race to accumulate BTC.

Bailey revealed November 9: “There is at least one nation state that is actively purchasing Bitcoin and is currently among the top five holders of Bitcoin. Hopefully we’ll hear from them soon.” He emphasized his confidence with a meme, pointing out that his information was based on knowledge, not speculation. Mike Novogratz, CEO of Galaxy Digital, confirmed in a recent interview with Bloomberg TV that “countries are already buying BTC in huge quantities.”

The “US trading in bitcoin reserves” is expected to continue until Trump’s inauguration on January 20. Time will tell if Trump will follow through on his promises, potentially moving over 208,000 BTC confiscated by law enforcement into a reserve or even adopting Senator Cynthia Lummis’ Bitcoin Act proposal to purchase 1 million BTC over five years.

#2 Potential Appointment of “Crypto Czar”

Wednesday’s leak suggests that President-elect Trump’s team is in discussions about creating a fresh White House position devoted exclusively to Bitcoin and cryptocurrency policy. Sources familiar with the transition efforts indicate that candidates are being vetted for the role.

If established, it would be the first-ever position from the White House on Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, underscoring the impact the nascent industry will have on the incoming administration. It’s unclear whether this will be a senior-level position in the White House or a “cryptocar” overseeing policy and regulation across the federal government. Crypto industry advocates are pushing for the role to have direct exposure to Trump — huge news for the entire industry.

#3 Launching Bitcoin ETF options

The introduction of the Bitcoin ETF option has had a significant impact on the market. BlackRock’s iShares BTC Trust (IBIT) Options ETF, launched on November 19, 2024, has seen unprecedented notional exposure to its first day of trading. Bloomberg ETF expert James Seyffart stated: “The final result of the first day of IBIT options is just $1.9 billion of notional exposure traded on 354,000 shares. contracts. 289 thousand are summonses, and 65 thousand are puts. This is a ratio of 4.4:1. These options were almost certainly part of today’s move towards new all-time highs for Bitcoin.”

Jeff Park, director of alpha strategy at Bitwise Invest, recently highlighted the revolutionary nature of Bitcoin ETF options:

Following SEC approval to list and trade Bitcoin ETF options, we are on the brink of witnessing the most extraordinary vol outperformance in financial history. For the first time, Bitcoin’s nominal value will be “partially loaded” with ETF options. This marks the most monumental progress in the cryptocurrency market.

Park explained that Bitcoin Options ETFs provide a regulated market where the Options Clearing Corporation (OCC) protects clearing members from counterparty risk by allowing synthetic hypothetical Bitcoin exposure to grow exponentially. He stressed that this could lead to an explosive, recursive impact on Bitcoin’s price due to its unique volatility characteristics and “volatility smile.”

If there was one thing to read today about the game-changing Bitcoin ETF option, read (and bookmark) this one for 2025 – it’s going to be crazy. pic.twitter.com/On2DmUsbHX

— Jeff Park (@dgt10011) September 20, 2024

#4 Growth in the Bitcoin cash market and ETFs

High activity on the spot market also contributed to the recent raise. Mighty spot bids drove the price higher, and yesterday’s inflow of BTC into ETFs was a key factor. Proceeds amounted to $773.4 million, with BlackRock contributing $626.5 million, Fidelity contributing $133.9 million, Bitwise contributing $9.2 million and ARK Invest contributing $3.8 million. Over the past three days, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs have purchased a staggering $1.856 billion worth of Bitcoin.

Good morning,

Yesterday’s Bitcoin ETF flows were positive at $773.4 million.

Blackrock earned $626.5 million, Fidelity $133.9 million. (BTC in mini-ETF still missing data)

The price is slowly increasing from PLN 92,000. dollars to 97 thousand dollars.
Shitcoins are getting slaughtered.

source:… pic.twitter.com/WMYIj7WiYj

— WhalePanda (@WhalePanda) November 21, 2024

The total net asset value of U.S. Bitcoin spot ETFs has surpassed $100 billion. Twelve Bitcoin ETFs were issued in January, including those from BlackRock and Fidelity, which reached this milestone in just ten months.

At the time of publication, the BTC price was $96,920.

Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com