Bitcoin has topped $110,000 for the first time in a recent rally that has seen it gain 3% over the past day to break through past price highs from earlier this year.

Bitcoin (BTC) hit a new all-time high of $110,788.98 on Coinbase late on May 21, just before 11:30 pm UTC, according to TradingView.

Bitcoin has gained around 3% over the last 24 hours, surpassing its all-time high of $109,458 that it hit earlier in the day, which was the first time it traded above its previously long-held Jan. 20 peak.

The world’s largest cryptocurrency has now gained 17.5% so far this year and is up 47% since its slump to $75,000 on April 7, triggered by US President Donald Trump enacting sweeping tariffs that tanked global markets.

Bitcoin’s new peak comes as US stock markets were rattled by a weak 20-year bond auction, which sent treasury yields soaring on May 21. The S&P 500 fell 80 points in half an hour while the Nasdaq and Dow Jones mirrored the move, with all US indexes trading down on the day. 

Bitcoin’s weekly chart shows it has climbed out of a slump earlier this year. Source: TradingView

Caroline Bowler, CEO of the Australian crypto exchange BTC Markets, said in a note to Cointelegraph that Bitcoin’s new high “reflects a mature interest in digital assets worldwide, not the speculative surge seen in past cycles.”

“Today’s demand is driven by institutional-grade infrastructure and stronger regulatory clarity. Investor sentiment has shifted decisively, reflecting institutional-style allocations,” she added. 

According to Google Trends, searches for Bitcoin have been trending down since November and are at lows typical of crypto bear markets, indicating a low retail interest in the cryptocurrency.

Meanwhile, the Crypto Fear & Greed Index, which tracks market sentiment, was at a score of 72 out of 100 on May 22, indicating “greed.” The index is down from its 2025 high of 84 on Jan. 22, which came two days after Trump’s inauguration.

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Edward Carroll, head of global markets and corporate finance at MHC Digital Group, told Cointelegraph in a note that growing demand driving the price higher in the medium-term could push Bitcoin to at least $160,000 by the fourth quarter of this year and $1 million by 2030.

Trader’s leveraged Bitcoin bet tops $1.1B

Meanwhile, leverage trader James Wynn’s Bitcoin long position on the crypto platform Hyperliquidity has become the largest onchain margin trade when it exceeded $1.1 billion amid Bitcoin’s price peak. 

The entry point for the 40x leveraged position was $108,065 and it has an unrealized profit of $20 million. It will be liquidated if Bitcoin’s price falls to $103,800.

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Crypto influencer Anthony Pompliano’s fintech-focused blank-check company, ProCap Acquisition Corp (PCAPU), rose 7% on its debut Nasdaq listing after a last-minute upsizing of its initial public offering.

ProCap had boosted its IPO from $200 million to $220 million on May 20, a day before its public launch, pricing its 22 million shares on offer at $10 each.

ProCap shares closed the May 21 trading day up 7% at $10.70, which continued with a 1.6% bump after-hours to $10.87, Yahoo Finance data shows.

PCAPU’s share price closed up 7% on its debut trading day. Source: Yahoo Finance

The company has offered underwriters a 45-day option to buy up to 3.3 million additional shares at the IPO price to cover extra demand.

ProCap said in an April 30 regulatory filing that the firm will be a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) that will look to invest in, and potentially take public, companies in the financial services, digital asset, asset management or healthcare sectors.

Pompliano is one of the crypto industry’s biggest cheerleaders, hosting a Bitcoin and finance-focused podcast and leading investment firm Professional Capital Management.

Pompliano told CNBC on May 21 that he had been itching to take a company public over the last five years but hadn’t seen enough demand in the private market until six months ago, citing recent changes to the US regulatory landscape affecting financial markets.

Related: Texas House passes strategic Bitcoin reserve bill

He hinted that his blank-check firm would invest in crypto-native and traditional finance businesses as he expects the sectors to converge in the coming years.

“The reason why I use the term financial services is basically the new digital world and the old incumbent world are all merging.”

SPACs haven’t been done right in the past, Pomp says

On CNBC, Pompliano was pressed on why he chose to make ProCap a SPAC, which have historically seen high failure rates due to sponsor conflicts, dilution, speculative valuations and regulatory scrutiny.

Pompliano said SPACs have gotten a bad reputation because companies often treat them like public venture capital, targeting high-growth companies that are losing a lot of money at high valuations.

Pompliano noted he has put “millions of dollars” of his own money on the line.

“We’ve got real skin in the game,” Pompliano said, adding: “I’m taking a huge reputation risk.”

Brent Saunders, CEO of health products firm Bausch + Lomb, also joined as a strategic adviser. Saunders completed over $300 billion worth of mergers and acquisitions over the last 17 years.

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Australia’s financial regulator will seek the High Court’s permission to appeal a lower court’s ruling favoring fintech firm Block Earner, which found the company’s crypto-linked fixed-yield earning service is not a financial product.

The Australian Securities and Investment Commission said on May 21 that it wants to ask the High Court of Australia to clarify what the definition of a financial product is and clarify the circumstances when an interest-earning product and the conversion of assets from one form to another are regulated.

“The definition of financial product was drafted in a broad and technology-neutral way, and ASIC believes it is in the public interest to clarify this,” the watchdog said.

“This clarification is important as it applies to all financial products and services whether they involve crypto-assets or not.”

On April 22, Federal Court Justices David O’Callaghan, Wendy Abraham and Catherine Button found that Block Earner’s crypto-linked fixed-yield earning product is not a financial product, a managed investment scheme or a derivative under the Corporations Act.

ASIC said the court will consider its application. Special leave is required in an appeal to the High Court, and it’s only granted in cases where it would answer significant legal questions or matters of public interest.

A Block Earner spokesperson told Cointelegraph the matter has now escalated to a “broader legal question” around the definition of a financial product, which extends “well beyond Block Earner, and the crypto sector.” 

“We believe the Full Federal Court’s April ruling was a strong and well-reasoned decision that upheld the integrity of our operations,” the spokesperson said. “We remain confident in the soundness of that judgment and will respond to ASIC’s application through the appropriate legal channels.” 

Legal saga ongoing since 2022

ASIC first launched legal proceedings against Block Earner in November 2022, arguing the company needed a financial services license to offer its yield product, which was available from March 17, 2022, until the company shut it down on Nov. 16, 2022.

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ASIC was arguing Block Earner needed a financial services license to offer its crypto-linked fixed-yield earning product. Source: ASIC

In February 2024, an Australian court initially ruled the fintech firm would need a financial services license to operate its crypto yield-bearing products. 

Another June 2024 ruling in Australia’s Federal Court released Block Earner from any financial penalties because it had “acted honestly” and pursued its legal opinions before launching the products, which ASIC appealed.

Block Earner appealed the Federal Court’s decision that it needed a financial services license on July 9, 2024. 

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