On Tuesday (July 15), Bitcoin significantly retraced after hitting a historic high of $123,218 the previous day, now falling below the $120,000 mark as investors opted to take profits.
As of the time of writing, the price of Bitcoin has fallen below $120,000, down 2.9% to around $117,170, briefly touching a market cap of $2.44 trillion.
Yesterday, Bitcoin broke through the $120,000 mark for the first time, marking another milestone for the world's largest cryptocurrency. Investors are betting on a series of favorable policies referred to as 'Crypto Week' by the U.S. Republican Party this week.
Bitcoin's surge has also led to a recent overall rebound in other cryptocurrencies, despite Trump's chaotic tariff policies hitting sentiment in other markets.
Ethereum reached a high of $3,081.94, the highest since February 2, yet it is still down over 10% year-to-date. Ripple (XRP) saw a maximum increase of 6.4% that day, closing up 2.7%.
According to CoinMarketCap data, the total market cap of the cryptocurrency industry has ballooned to about $3.8 trillion.
eToro analyst Simon Peters pointed out that Bitcoin has not yet reached new highs in other currencies such as the euro, suggesting that part of the reason for Monday's record could be the weakening of the dollar.
The U.S. Congress will review multiple cryptocurrency bills
The U.S. House of Representatives will review and possibly pass a series of cryptocurrency-related bills this week, which are expected to provide the long-awaited nationwide regulatory framework for the digital asset industry.
The U.S. Republican Party has designated the week of July 14 as 'Crypto Week,' during which Congress members will vote on the Genius Bill, the Clarity Bill, and the Anti-Central Bank Digital Currency Monitoring National Bill. Among these, the most important is the Genius Bill, which will establish federal rules for stablecoins.
Peters from eToro stated: 'The progress around this legislation could further boost the current upward trend, and we are watching closely.'
Trump family's crypto layout
These demands have been responded to by U.S. President Donald Trump of the Republican Party, who calls himself the 'crypto president' and urges policymakers to revise rules to support the industry.
Over the past year, Trump and his family have repeatedly ventured into cryptocurrencies, including launching a new crypto project called World Liberty Financial and issuing their own meme coin this January.
Last week, crypto entrepreneur Sun Yuchen announced a reinvestment of $100 million to purchase this presidential meme coin, of which he was already a major investor. The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comments on Sun's investment.
According to CoinMarketCap, this meme coin surged to about $75 after its launch in January, but fell 3.4% on Monday to $9.45.
Outlook for Bitcoin's future market
Trump, who claims to make the U.S. the 'crypto capital of the world,' has pushed policies supporting cryptocurrencies that have driven Bitcoin to new highs. But can this rally continue?
Tony Sycamore, a market analyst at IG, stated: 'Currently, Bitcoin is benefiting from multiple tailwinds.' He noted that institutional demand, expectations of further increases, and Trump's support are driving bullish sentiment in the market.
He said: 'The trend over the past six or seven days has been very strong, and it’s hard to say where the upward momentum will stop. It looks like Bitcoin could easily challenge $125,000.'
According to CryptoQuant analyst Tarek J, the current pullback is not driven by negative news but primarily due to investors taking profits. He noted that such pullbacks typically signify the emergence of local peaks, which may bring about short-term consolidation or adjustments.
However, Adam, a macro strategist at Greeks.live, holds a different view. He emphasizes that bullish sentiment remains strong, with many traders seeing $130,000 as the next resistance level.
Nevertheless, technical indicators such as RSI and MACD show overbought conditions and some bearish signals, suggesting that prices may pull back to $110,000.
Senior financial market strategist and InTouch senior forex analyst Sean Callow believes that Bitcoin's price movements are 'full of speculative power.' 'This price action makes me very concerned.'
He remains a skeptic of Bitcoin, believing it carries bubble risks—that is, a rapid price increase followed by a crash. 'I think Bitcoin is indeed more robust in terms of the types of investors involved compared to one or two years ago, which may somewhat limit downside risk. But there’s no doubt that if prices start to drop, it could get very ugly.'
While Andrew Page has exposure to Bitcoin, he also acknowledges the risks. However, as an experienced investor, he has seen many bubbles, and Bitcoin doesn't seem to fit the characteristics of a 'traditional bubble.'
'What’s special about it is that after each crash, it always rebounds to a level at least 10 times higher than the initial level, then creates a new historical high. So, maybe it is a bubble. But if it is, it is the largest, longest-lasting, and most unusual bubble in history.'
