Bitcoin (BTC) has achieved a significant milestone, rising past $120,000 for the first time in history, marking a remarkable year-to-date gain of 28%. As of midday Hong Kong time, BTC is trading above $121,000, according to CoinDesk market data.
This upward movement comes on the heels of President Donald Trump’s announcement of a 30% tariff on products from the EU and Mexico, set to take effect on August 1. This decision has stirred the markets, contributing to a bullish resolution following approximately 48 hours of volatile price action that allowed overbought signals from short-duration indicators to reset favorably.
Market attention now turns to the U.S. inflation data anticipated later this week, which is expected to reflect an increase in living costs in June amidst the backdrop of Trump’s trade war. According to FactSet, economists predict that the consumer price index (CPI) will rise by 0.25% month-on-month, resulting in an annualized growth rate of 2.6%. The core CPI, which excludes the more volatile food and energy sectors, is projected to increase by 0.3% monthly, representing a 3% annualized growth.
Should inflation accelerate, risk assets, including BTC, may experience some turbulence, potentially delaying anticipated interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve. Nevertheless, the downside appears limited, bolstered by strong momentum in corporate adoption of Bitcoin, significant inflows into ETFs, and a generally positive regulatory outlook in the U.S.
John Glover, CEO of Ledn, remains optimistic about Bitcoin’s trajectory, suggesting that the cryptocurrency’s rally has long-term potential, with prices possibly reaching $136,000 by year-end. In an email, Glover noted, “We have finally broken to new highs, which confirms that the dip to $96k in late June satisfied the wave (ii) pullback (yellow line) within the larger Wave 5 (orange line).”
Glover elaborated, “While this doesn’t change the ultimate target of circa $136k to complete this bull run, it does likely reduce the time it will take to reach this target. I was previously looking for this in Q1 of 2026, but now it appears more likely to hit $136k by year-end.”
