Cryptocurrencies are recording collective gains in mid-trading on Thursday, May 22, as Bitcoin, the world’s most expensive cryptocurrency, rose for the fifth consecutive session, hitting a new record high of $111,000. This coincided with rising optimism over the passage of the US Digital Currency Regulatory Act and increased institutional demand for the currency, which supported the rise in the market value of cryptocurrencies.
This optimism in the markets stems from increased appetite among cryptocurrency traders as the GENIUS stablecoin regulation bill overcame some obstacles, with expectations of its passage in the Senate after the bill failed to pass. A group of Democrats withdrew their opposition to the bill, allowing it to pass a key vote and reviving hopes for its imminent passage in the Senate. Institutional demand for cryptocurrencies, and Bitcoin in particular, has contributed to the currency’s record highs. Stategy, a company owned by cryptocurrency expert Michael Saylor, revealed that the company had increased its Bitcoin holdings by $765 million earlier this week, bringing its holdings to more than $63 billion. Meanwhile, other institutions, including JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, and BlackRock, have indicated they are expanding their cryptocurrency offerings to clients. The combined market capitalization of the cryptocurrency market, which includes more than 17,000 cryptocurrencies, rose by about 2.4% on Thursday, with the market cap trading at $3.64 trillion, according to Coingecko. Bitcoin is trading at $111,469,000, up approximately 4.55% today, marking a new record high, surpassing the January high of $109,000, with a market cap of $2.214 trillion. Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency, is up approximately 4.35%, trading at $2,651,000, with a market cap of $320 billion.
XRP, or Ripple, continues to maintain its position as the world’s fourth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, rising approximately 3% today to trade at $2.42, with a market cap of $142 billion.
Dogecoin is recording gains of approximately 6%, trading at $0.2411, with a market cap of $36 billion. Cardano is the highest gainer in the top 10, rising approximately 6.89%, trading at $0.8026, with a market cap of approximately $28 billion. Solana is up about 5.18%, trading at $177 with a market cap of $92 billion, while Sui, which moved up to 11th place, is down about 2%, trading at $3.81 with a market cap of $12 billion