Bitcoin over R2 million as it hits new high

Bitcoin has hit a new high against the US dollar, climbing to over $111,000 per coin in the early hours of Thursday morning.

In South Africa, Binance data shows that the world’s biggest cryptocurrency is back above R2 million, but still below its January high of R2,150,000.

That’s because the Rand is currently much stronger against the Dollar than it was in January.

It was trading between R17.93 and R17.99 for most of Thursday before once again dropping below R18 per dollar. On 20 January, it traded at around R18.70.

“Bitcoin hitting a new all-time high above $111,000 marks a major milestone for the crypto industry,” said Binance South Africa general manager Hannes Wessels.

“It reflects growing global confidence in digital assets, driven by strong institutional demand and regulatory progress.”

Wessels said they were proud to support this momentum and remained committed to accelerating crypto adoption worldwide.

Altify CEO Sean Sanders told MyBroadband that it was remarkable to see the rapid mainstream adoption of the crypto asset class globally, which was clearly reflected in Bitcoin’s new all-time high.

“Five years ago, securing a discussion on Bitcoin or crypto with financial advisors and wealth managers was challenging,” Sanders said.

“Today, they’re actively engaging and pushing to add crypto into their clients’ portfolios.”

Sanders said that to anyone feeling they’ve missed out, he will give them comfort to say that he heard the exact same thing at every major Bitcoin milestone — at $1,000, $10,000, and now at $110,000.

“I personally believe we’ll see Bitcoin surpass gold’s total market value, which suggests a 10x return from current levels so there’s still lots of upside ahead,” he said.

A wave of optimism is buoying Bitcoin after the advancement of a key stablecoin bill in the US senate fueled hopes of greater regulatory clarity for digital-asset firms under President Trump, who is avowedly pro-crypto.

Surging demand from Michael Saylor’s Strategy — which has stockpiled over $50 billion worth of Bitcoin — and a growing list of token hoarders is another driving force behind the rally.

Bitcoin’s outperformance relative to smaller cryptocurrencies is widening. An index that tracks so-called altcoins is down about 40% year-to-date, while Bitcoin is up 18% so far in 2025. 

A group of 12 US Bitcoin exchange-traded funds have drawn strong inflows, with investors pouring in about $4.2 billion so far in May.

Reporting with Bloomberg