Bitcoin Soars Above $120K as US Government Shutdown Continues

Bitcoin topped a price of $120,000 per coin on Thursday for the first time since mid-August as the U.S. government shutdown entered its second day—and as investors piled back into exchange-traded funds with the hope that the Federal Reserve would soon cut interest rates.

The price of Bitcoin recently touched a price of $120,286 after rising 2% over a 24-hour period, according to CoinGecko data. Over the past week, the leading cryptocurrency has shot up by nearly 8%, rising again after a recent lull as investors sought safe haven assets. The price of gold has also risen this week, hitting fresh peaks.

Bitcoin’s rise comes as U.S. investors flock to spot Bitcoin ETFs again. On Wednesday, investors threw a total of $675.8 million at the funds—their highest level since September 12.

Market observers previously told Decrypt that Bitcoin, despite being a “risk-on” asset like stocks, was moving more independently. Bitcoin in the past has been correlated with U.S. stocks—particularly tech equities—but has also at times moved in correlation with gold.

The more uncorrelated Bitcoin’s price moves are, the more attractive it will be for investors, Bloomberg’s ETF analyst Eric Balchunas told Decrypt on Wednesday.

The chance of a rate cut in October has soared, too, experts also told Decrypt, making the biggest digital coin more attractive. Bitcoin has typically done well in low-interest rate environments.

Bitcoin has typically experienced rough Septembers along with stocks, but then soared in October—dubbed “Uptober” by some. Nine out of the past 10 years have been strong for the cryptocurrency, experts told Decrypt, and we’re already seeing that trend play out again in the early days of the month.

Other digital assets also rose on Thursday alongside the leading cryptocurrency: Ethereum was recently trading for $4,407 after jumping by 3%, while Solana’s price stood close to $226 after also rising over the past day by 3%.

Alongside the price surge, crypto traders are becoming increasingly bullish on Bitcoin’s prospects of hitting a new all-time high price.

As of this writing, Myriad users predict that BTC has an 81% likelihood of hitting $125,000—which would be a new record—sooner than it can plunge to $105,000. Those odds are up 15% over the last 24 hours alone. (Disclaimer: Myriad is a product of Decrypt‘s parent company, DASTAN.)