Following a stormy but ultimately successful ascent, Bitcoin has regained a $2 trillion market cap — rejoining the global stage as one of the five most valuable financial assets on Earth.
Just weeks ago, it was barely holding on to the #7 spot, trailing in the wake of Meta and Berkshire Hathaway. Now, it has surged past those and other rivals to reclaim its lofty perch — ranking alongside such tech titans as Apple, Microsoft, and Saudi Aramco.
Right now, at about $104,000, everyone seems to be asking the same question: Will Bitcoin break into the Top 3 by the end of 2025?
From Meta’s Shadow to the Financial Spotlight
Bitcoin’s recent increase is nothing short of impressive. At the start of April, it had just crept past Meta to enter the top 10 financial assets globally — a presence that was considered more symbolic than structural. But now, barely a month later, Bitcoin’s total valuation has not only held its ground but also surpassed that of Berkshire Hathaway and even come close to threatening the valuations of oil and banking titans.
The digital asset’s price surge to over $104,000 was not solely the result of zealous buying; it was also driven by two consecutive short squeezes that left bearish traders singed. The first squeeze occurred at $97,000, when approximately $360 million in short positions were liquidated as Bitcoin rocketed past a dense cluster of stop-losses. The second wave came immediately afterward, at $101,000, wiping out another $240 million in shorts as traders incorrectly called for a double-top reversal.
The mixture of technical breakdowns and forced liquidations did add fuel to the Bitcoin rally and did help propel Bitcoin into the territory it had last been in during the previous all-time highs, and it seems that there is no better way to fulfill the prophecies that Bitcoin is now a fully matured institutional product.
Institutional Wallets Signal Strategic Accumulation
One of the main indicators supporting the current rally is the evident and steady accumulation by wallets containing 1,000 to 10,000 BTC. This group is considered to be one of the most reliable signs of institutional interest. It includes hedge funds, family offices, companies that are publicly listed, and large Bitcoin mining operations — all reputed to be entities that operate with a long-term vision and some strategic intent.
On-chain analytics indicate that this group has been persistently upping its stash of Bitcoin since the start of Q1 2025. These whales are not partaking in short-lived pump and dump schemes. Instead, they seem to be building a position in the digital gold of sorts. Perhaps they are doing so in anticipation of the still-to-be-determined macro shifts in the world economy, or an upturn in the Bitcoin price. Alternatively, they could be anticipating further inroads being made by ETFs, or the use of Bitcoin by corporations, as in the case of MicroStrategy, as a treasury reserve asset.
What they are doing is the opposite of what we consider to be traditional retail trading. Collecting means a longer-time horizon, and hence a stronger, more, let’s say, windmill-like conviction in the form of an accumulation bull case. If it is retail that is accumulating in the shadows, then it is retail with a high degree of conviction.
Top 3 By Year-End? The Road Ahead
Currently ranked as one of the top five global assets, Bitcoin is tantalizingly close to pulling ahead of such prime players as Saudi Aramco and even Google, if current trends hold. The gap between its present valuation of about $2 trillion and that of the asset in the #3 slot — currently hovering around $2.5 trillion — no longer seems all that wide.
The bull markets in the past have also left their mark on the landscape. Now, the access route for institutions to Bitcoin has smoothed out considerably. Five Bitcoin ETFs are now up and running and performing well; they, together with other vehicles, make up what institutions can now use to reach digital gold. And then there’s the sobering fact—or is it a good sign?—that state pension funds and sovereign wealth funds have also started investing in our space.
Should the institutional accumulation trend hold and short squeezes keep occurring, then overly bearish positions could be a thing of the past during 2023. These bearish positions have been cleared, and with them a possible breakout into new all-time high territory beyond $110K.
Certainly, macroeconomic fluctuations, regulatory demands, and capricious geopolitical elements still hang around like dark clouds. Yet at this moment, Bitcoin seems more robust and woven into the international monetary fabric than ever.
It is no longer a fantasy for the financial top 3 to include it. The ascent into the financial top 3 isn’t guaranteed for it. But it’s a target within range.
Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.
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