Soaring in Tandem with U.S. Equities: Bitcoin Sets Fresh Record Highs—Has a “Risk Party” Arrived?

On Thursday, Bitcoin established a new all-time high, mirroring gains in U.S. equity markets and underscoring investors’ growing appetite for risk assets on a global scale. During early Thursday trading in Beijing, the digital currency briefly topped $124,000, marking another historic peak. At the same time, Wall Street’s bullish outlook on Ethereum—the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization—propelled its price this week to near-record territory.

Just prior to these milestones, the S&P 500 Index closed at record levels for the second straight session, extending its summer rally and pushing the benchmark to successive new highs. Year to date, Bitcoin has gained 31%, representing a 60% increase from its April low. Over the past year, Bitcoin’s steady ascent has been supported by a crypto-friendly regulatory environment in Washington under President Trump.

Last week, President Trump signed an executive order directing the Department of Labor to explore allowing 401(k) plans to hold cryptocurrencies and other alternative assets—a move that could broaden demand for digital currencies.

Public companies led by MicroStrategy, under Michael Saylor’s leadership, have adopted the increasingly common corporate strategy of accumulating Bitcoin, further bolstering demand. This approach has recently extended to smaller rivals such as Ethereum, contributing to broad-based gains across digital assets. The synchronized strength of speculative digital assets and mainstream benchmarks highlights a shared wave of optimism.

U.S. inflation data released this week met expectations and reinforced market bets on a Federal Reserve rate cut in September—an easing of financial conditions that is likely to encourage capital flows from blue-chip equities to higher-volatility tokens.

Chris Newhouse, Research Director at Ergonia, observed that cryptocurrencies have maintained a positive correlation with equity markets, with Ethereum’s linkage to stocks proving even stronger than Bitcoin’s amid generally favorable sentiment.

Ethereum’s rally has been driven by sustained demand from newly active asset-reserve entities, while Bitcoin’s more measured climb has depended on continued ETF inflows despite facing technical headwinds.

Ben Kurland, CEO of crypto research platform DYOR, remarked, “Slowing inflation, heightened rate-cut expectations, and unprecedented institutional participation through ETFs have combined to create a powerful tailwind. What distinguishes this rally is the maturity of its demand base—it is fueled not only by retail enthusiasm but by structural purchases from asset managers, corporations, and sovereign entities.”