Bitcoin Surges Past $100K: A New Era for Cryptocurrency
Bitcoin has shattered the symbolic $100,000 barrier, briefly touching $105,000 and cementing a remarkable 70% gain over the past year. This milestone represents more than just a price achievement—it signals a fundamental shift in how the cryptocurrency is perceived and traded in global markets.
John D’Agostino, Coinbase Institutional’s head of strategy, provided insight into this historic rally during a recent CNBC “Squawk Box” appearance, highlighting the evolving relationship between Bitcoin and traditional asset classes.
“Bitcoin had outperformed [gold] since the announcement of the tariffs,” D’Agostino noted, pointing to a significant trend that has accelerated dramatically in recent weeks. He identified four key characteristics driving Bitcoin’s current surge: decoupling from technology stocks, serving as an inflation hedge, catching up to gold as a store of value, and perhaps most critically, its inherent scarcity.
“Bitcoin miners cannot produce Bitcoin as fast as this overwhelming demand,” D’Agostino explained. “I don’t think it’s appropriate to view it as a tech stock in the tech bundle. Whether you view it as a commodity like gold is somewhat subjective.”
The explosion in Bitcoin ETF inflows has been particularly noteworthy, with approximately $5.5 billion flowing into these investment vehicles recently, far outpacing gold. This surge is even more remarkable considering that financial advisors at major asset management firms are generally not permitted to recommend these products to clients.
“This is being done with the asset managers not allowing their salespeople, their financial advisors, to recommend it,” D’Agostino emphasized. “That’s extraordinary. That’s like a shoe salesman not being able to recommend Nike.”
The implications of this restriction are significant. As D’Agostino suggested, the market could see even greater inflows when these limitations are eventually lifted: “I’ll sort of leave it to your viewers to determine what happens when that thundering herd of brokers can actually pick up the phone and recommend this ETF.”
Coinbase has positioned itself strategically within this expanding ecosystem, serving as the custodian for the majority of Bitcoin ETFs. “When you buy an ETF and they’re effectively coin held with us, you’re holding it,” D’Agostino explained, highlighting the company’s central role in the institutional adoption of cryptocurrency.
Beyond Bitcoin, D’Agostino offered a framework for understanding the broader cryptocurrency landscape. “There’s Bitcoin, there’s about top 20 tokens which have real utility trying to solve real problems. The stack below that I think of as a venture capital pool,” he said, suggesting investors should approach the sector with a portfolio theory mindset where some investments will fail, others will stagnate, and a few may deliver exceptional returns.
Regarding regulation, D’Agostino expressed support for clearer guidelines rather than resistance to oversight. “We’ve been pushing for clearer regulations,” he stated. “I think what we’ll see is more law, more clear law, and more clear guidelines.” He noted that other countries have “leapfrogged” the United States by establishing more definitive regulatory frameworks.
When questioned about insider trading rules for cryptocurrency, D’Agostino advocated for consistency with traditional markets: “I personally think there should be. I think that people who trade these assets should follow the same rules.”
As Bitcoin continues its historic run, this milestone represents not just a price achievement but potentially a watershed moment in cryptocurrency’s evolution from speculative asset to mainstream financial instrument.
