#Crypto2025Trends

Bitcoin had been hanging around just below $100,000 for a while. The coin rose above $99,340 on Nov. 22, retreated below $91,300 over the next week, and then bounced between $45,000 and $98,000 for a few days.

Wednesday's surge started around noon ET. Rising from a 24-hour low of roughly $94,800, the coin reached a $98,000 plateau four hours later. Near 9:30 p.m. ET, one of my market-tracking apps buzzed in my pocket, saying that Bitcoin was nearing the $99,000 level. Less than 10 minutes after that, I watched a live Bitcoin price tracker skip from a bunch of 9s to just above the legendary $100,000 mark.

The surge didn't stop there, and Bitcoin rose above $102,000 while I wrote the paragraphs above. Time flies when you're having fun in the crypto space.

As for the reasons behind this sudden spike, Bitcoin investors lionized the incoming Trump administration's nominee to lead the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Current SEC Chairman Gary Gensler hasn't provided much support to the crypto industry, but he recently preannounced his January resignation. On Wednesday evening, President-elect Trump said he wants the crypto-friendly Paul Atkins to take Gensler's seat. Bitcoin didn't immediately soar when the Atkins pick was published, giving investors a few hours to mull over the implications of the Atkins pick.