Bitcoin Surges 11.51% in Week, Overtakes Amazon, Google in Value

Bitcoin's price surged above $123,000 early Monday morning before retreating to just under $121,000 in the afternoon. This rally has propelled Bitcoin to become the fifth most valuable asset on earth, with a market capitalization of approximately $2.4 trillion. This valuation surpasses that of major tech giants such as Amazon, which is valued at a little over $2.4 trillion, and Google (Alphabet), which is valued at a little under $2.2 trillion.

The surge in Bitcoin's value can be attributed to several factors. Institutional capital has been pouring into the Bitcoin ecosystem since the launch of the first Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in early 2024. This influx was further boosted by the U.S. President Donald Trump’s landslide victory in November, which created a more crypto-friendly regulatory environment. The nomination of Paul Atkins as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was a pivotal regulatory development this year, contributing to the positive sentiment around Bitcoin.

Additionally, a notable trend has emerged where dozens of companies with no direct connection to Bitcoin have started raising significant capital to purchase Bitcoin for their balance sheets. This strategy was inspired by the success of software firm turned Bitcoin treasury company Strategy, whose Chairman Michael Saylor discovered the cryptocurrency in 2020. Strategy has since seen a remarkable increase in value, inspiring numerous other companies to follow suit and trigger a deluge of institutional Bitcoin purchases.

These multiple tailwinds have helped Bitcoin reach uncharted price territory, making it even more valuable than some of the most iconic tech firms in existence. The current price of Bitcoin represents a 1.53% increase since the previous day and a much larger 11.51% jump over the past week. Despite the increase in market value, Bitcoin's dominance ratio has edged lower by 0.33% to 64.42%, hinting at a corresponding altcoin rally.