The road to $100,000 — What's behind bitcoin's storied 2024 run

Bitcoin's long-awaited push above $100,000 comes during the culmination of a year in which the leading cryptocurrency was embraced by key Wall Street institutions and became a hot topic in the U.S. presidential election.

For years, bitcoin bulls predicted a rally to $100,000 as a way to show their optimism about crypto. But many on Wall Street dismissed them. The digital coin crossed the six-figure threshold Wednesday night and is now up more than 140% in 2024.

Bitcoin is up more than 140% in 2024.

The start of 2024 is a fitting way to frame the latest leg of bitcoin's journey, since the first bitcoin ETFs launched on Jan. 11. The funds attracted tens of billions of dollars of inflows since their debut, led by the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), which now has $50 billion in assets.

While there are still a few notable holdouts among investment firms, the launch and rapid growth of these funds is the most visible example of the acceptance of bitcoin by the traditional financial system. After being seen for years as a speculative asset for retail traders, institutional buying has pushed bitcoin to another level.

"Institutions have net-bought 683,000 bitcoins YTD, via US spot ETFs and large purchases by MicroStrategy, a software company and Bitcoin proxy. A significant 245,000 of these inflows have occurred in the weeks since the US election ... This has helped to propel BTC through the USD 100,000 level," Geoff Kendrick, global head of digital assets research at Standard Chartered Bank, said in a note to clients Thursday.

Trump went to the Bitcoin Conference in Nashville as part of his campaign. His pick to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission, Paul Atkins, is seen as friendly to the crypto industry — and a dramatic change from current SEC Chair Gary Gensler.

"This current administration has been hostile to crypto, very much so. We've been kind of a victim of that alongside the broader industry. So having people that come in, that understand it and embrace it, is very important for the industry," Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev said Thursday on "Squawk Box." Robinhood offers crypto trading on its brokerage platform.

The price of bitcoin is up 49% since Nov. 4, the day before the presidential election.

Bitcoin may have even gotten a little boost from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to push it over the $100,000 milestone. Powell said Wednesday that bitcoin is a competitor to gold, not the U.S. dollar. That's hardly a ringing endorsement of cryptocurrency, but the world's top central banker comparing bitcoin to one of the world's oldest investment assets could be seen as a sign of legitimacy.