Why bitcoin’s $100K breakout is just the start

Bitcoin is now the “seventh most valuable asset in the world by market cap, just behind the likes of Google and Amazon,” GSR’s Brian Rudick said

article-image

Chili Palmer/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks

share


This is a segment from the Empire newsletter. To read full editions, subscribe.


A dream is a wish your heart makes… unless that dream is bitcoin topping $100k, which happened late in the night for some of us. 

With $100k breached, bitcoin is the “seventh most valuable asset in the world by market cap, just behind the likes of Google and Amazon,” GSR’s Brian Rudick pointed out. 

Since November, we’ve seen bitcoin nearly double to hit $100k. And this climb hasn’t been without its challenges.

“Most investors are underestimating the price potential from continued global flows into bitcoin, whether from companies adding to their balance sheet or inflows into ETFs. There’s substantial interest in getting off zero, and there’s a market structure that is very different from traditional finance, which can lead to panic buying, pushing prices up quickly. The outlook for crypto is incredibly strong and returns are likely to outperform other risk assets,” Galaxy’s Chris Rhine said.

We’ve already gone over the price targets to watch, per Ledn’s John Glover, but I wanted to review one more time given bitcoin’s ability to stay above $100k. If it can quickly gain momentum to top $125k, then we could see a top of $160,000. But if we’re hanging around $100k, kind of like what we’ve seen so far, then $125,000 is the magic number. 

Oh, and if you need a laugh this morning, might I suggest checking out this 2019 tweet from notorious goldbug Peter Schiff:

Loading Tweet..

Anyway, putting bitcoin aside (stay with me here), I wanted to take a quick look at some other things to watch this month from K33’s Vetle Lunde. 

First and foremost: Lunde said any December dips may be buying opportunities. 

“The underlying momentum is not to be messed with. I view hypothetical adverse reactions to surprising employment data or unchanged interest rates at the FOMC as opportunities for aggression. The market is well poised to peak near Trump’s inauguration, where I’ll look to de-risk properly. Until then, my allocation reigns long and strong,” he wrote in a note. 

Lunde, who penned the note pre-$100k, is of the mind that we’ll see bitcoin “well into the $100,000’s.”

But a top hit could occur next month, which may track with what we heard from Glover if — and while technical analysis is a good thing to watch, it’s not a crystal ball — we see the levels in his reading of the Elliott Wave Theory.

“The average distance between BTC’s first cycle ATH and its last ATH during its past three cycles is 318 days. Under the assumption that average trajectories hold, a peak would occur on January 17. This is not unlikely, given that Trump’s inauguration will take place on January 20,” Lunde wrote. 

Thankfully, bitcoin’s holding above $100k for now, so we can all bask in the six-figure glory.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Research Report Templates.png

Research

Pipe Network is a decentralized content delivery network (dCDN) that replaces the sparse, capital intensive data center footprint of traditional CDNs with a permissionless mesh of independent node operators. By orchestrating under-utilized resources that already exist at the edge, rather than purchasing or leasing thousands of servers, Pipe slashes capital intensity while letting supply expand autonomously in the places where bandwidth is scarcest and most expensive.

article-image

ETH’s “breakout marks a significant structural shift and clears the path towards…$4,000,” Kraken’s OTC desk noted

article-image

Fiscal dominance isn’t about interest rates and it isn’t about Trump, either

article-image

Firestarter Storage brings decentralized storage and delivery to Solana

article-image

After lengthy closing arguments on Wednesday, the case is now in the hands of 12 jurors

article-image

Analysts cite weak trading volume and regulatory progress as factors

article-image

Builders weigh in on Ethereum’s first decade and the decisions that will define its next one