Bitcoin Nears $90,000

Bitcoin remained near the $90,000 mark on Monday, easing back from record levels reached last week.
The cryptocurrency's pullback came as enthusiasm surrounding Donald Trump’s presidency began to cool, and broader market sentiment was dampened by growing uncertainty over the US interest rate policy path.

Bitcoin surged by approximately 11% last week, which culminated in an all-time high of nearly $93,500. The rally was fueled by optimism sparked by pro-crypto Donald Trump’s win in the US presidential election.

As of Monday at 08:30 ET (13:30 GMT), Bitcoin fell 1.5% to $89,663.0. After recently clearing the $90,000 hurdle, markets are now watching for an assault on the $100,000 mark, viewed as a key level.

Bernstein Highlights Catalysts for $200K Bitcoin

Analysts at Bernstein have identified several factors that could drive Bitcoin’s price to their cycle target of $200,000 by 2025.
“We are entering a stage, where we expect intrigue will turn to pain for the bitcoin bears,” said analysts led by Gautam Chuggani in a Monday note to clients.

Bernstein set their current target in June when Bitcoin traded around $66,000, noting that Bitcoin’s surge toward $100,000 “seems around the corner,” making the $200K target for the end of 2025 seem less delusional.

Following Trump’s election victory, significant pro-crypto moves have been made by his administration. Key appointments such as bitcoin advocates Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Pete Hegseth for Secretary of Health and Secretary of Defense have taken place.

However, the most critical appointments for crypto—a new SEC Chair to replace Gary Gensler and a Treasury Secretary—are still forthcoming, the analysts pointed out.

Another major driver could be progress toward creating a US bitcoin reserve, a key campaign promise from Trump. Bernstein highlighted that Senator Cynthia Lummis has proposed the BITCOIN Act, which suggests the US acquire up to 5% of Bitcoin’s total supply over five years, nearly $100 billion at current prices. While the plan holds strong political momentum, implementing such a reserve could require significant legislative efforts.

“Demand for bitcoin this cycle is led by institutions, corporates, and retail,” the analysts said, but added that the next phase will likely be “sovereign led,” as political support for crypto-friendly policies grows and resistance to CBDCs increases. They noted that the political winds of change are favoring candidates advocating for crypto deregulation and opposing potential surveillance from a CBDC.

Crypto Price Today: Altcoins Mirror Bitcoin's Slowdown

Similarly, broader crypto markets experienced sluggish performance on Monday, paralleling Bitcoin's recent slowdown.

Ethereum, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency, slipped 0.7% to $3,081.15. Meanwhile, Solana and XRP rose by 3.7% and 1.1%, respectively, while Cardano traded flat. MATIC/USD also added around 1% on the day.

Among meme coins, DOGE/USD edged 0.1% lower, and Shiba Inu fell 0.5%. DOGE saw strong gains last week after Trump announced the formation of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), to be led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy.