Bitcoin crossed the $100,000 milestone on Thursday and hit a new all-time high of $103,679 hours ago. The leading cryptocurrency dominates the news cycle, with top global banks and institutional funds taking notes. Standard Chartered has reacted to Bitcoin hitting the $100,000 mark and cited that institutional money made BTC hit the achievement.

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According to Standard Chartered, retail investors played no role in Bitcoin climbing above the $100,000 level. The recently launched BTC ETF ignited its rally and set the stage for the landmark occasion. The global investment bank said that the turning point for BTC in 2024 came from trillion-dollar institutional funds.

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Standard Chartered Says Institutional Investors Pushed Bitcoin to $100,000

Geoff Kendrick, the Global Head of Digital Assets Research at Standard Chartered, said that ETF inflows made Bitcoin hit $100,000. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the Bitcoin ETF early this year, leading to institutional funds making a beeline to accumulate BTC.

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“At the end of the day, it’s just a number. But the reality is we’ve been able to get to this level because the industry has become institutionalized this year particularly and that’s mostly the ETF inflows,” he said to Reuters. “Roughly 3% of the total supply of Bitcoins that will ever exist have been purchased in 2024 by institutional money.”

BlackRock Surpasses $50 Billion As BTC Crosses $100,000

BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) has surpassed $50 billion minutes after Bitcoin crossed $100,000. Even Standard Chartered has investments in Bitcoin and the broader digital market industry. They recently invested in the European cryptocurrency exchange platform One Trading.

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Now that institutional money is entering Bitcoin, Standard Chartered predicts that BTC could soar higher. Several analysts say that the BTC rise is just the start and it could go parabolic from here. Investors who purchased BTC at its dips are now sitting on massive amounts of profits.