Bitcoin Surges to New All-Time High Above $109,000—Analysts Eye $135K-$320K Targets for 2025 #CriptoNews

Bitcoin has shattered its previous record, hitting a new all-time high of $109,486 on May 21, 2025, driven by massive institutional inflows, corporate treasury adoptions, and improving regulatory sentiment—marking seven consecutive green weekly candles and signaling potentially more gains ahead.

Key Takeaway: Bitcoin’s new all-time high above $109,000 represents more than just another price milestone—it signals a fundamental shift toward institutional acceptance and structural adoption that could support significantly higher prices in the months ahead, with analyst targets ranging from $135,000 to over $300,000 for 2025.

Bitcoin Price Source: Brave New Coin Bitcoin Liquid Index

Bitcoin’s meteoric rise continued its unstoppable trajectory this week, with the world’s largest cryptocurrency hitting a new record high above $109,400 during U.S. morning trade on Thursday. According to the Brave New Coin Bitcoin Liquid Index,  the largest and oldest cryptocurrency hit $109,486, surpassing the previous record set just hours before President Trump’s inauguration on January 20.

This latest milestone represents more than 46% surge from its April trough induced by mounting fears over global trade war and U.S. tariffs, demonstrating Bitcoin’s remarkable resilience and growing institutional acceptance.

Institutional Money Drives the Rally

The current price surge has been largely fueled by unprecedented institutional demand. Spot bitcoin exchange traded funds (ETF) gobbled up $3.6 billion in net inflows in May, signaling renewed confidence among traditional investors. This represents a dramatic turnaround from earlier in the year when ETFs experienced significant outflows.

BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) has been leading the charge, with BlackRock’s iShares contributed 1,250 Bitcoins to the total inflow, bringing its total Bitcoin holdings to 633,212, worth $66.28 billion. The sustained institutional buying has created what analysts describe as a more durable foundation for Bitcoin’s current rally compared to previous speculative runs.

U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs pulled in more than $2.8 billion in net inflows over the first half of May, with cumulative inflows standing at $41.77 billion as of May 16, with total net assets surpassing $122 billion. This represents a stark contrast to the early 2025 period when ETFs saw record outflows.

Technical Momentum Points to Further Gains

From a technical perspective, Bitcoin’s strength is evident in its sustained upward momentum. Bitcoin hit a new all-time high of $109,458 on Binance on May 21, marking seven consecutive green weekly candles in a row since the price bounced from its swing low of $74,500.

If Bitcoin closes the current weekly candle above $106,500 on May 25, it will mark its longest streak of consecutive green weekly closes since October 2023, highlighting the strength of the current bullish momentum.

Market capitalization metrics are also reaching new heights, with Bitcoin’s market cap and realized cap also achieving new highs of $2.17 trillion and $911.5 billion, according to Glassnode data.

Analysts Target Much Higher Prices

The crypto community’s price targets for Bitcoin remain remarkably bullish. Several prominent analysts are calling for significantly higher prices throughout 2025:

• Fibonacci Analysis: Crypto trader Titan of Crypto noted that a Bitcoin price target for $135,000 remains in “play” for 2025, using Fibonacci extension tools that identify the $135,000-$140,000 level as a potential target.
• Conservative Projections: Veteran trader Peter Brandt, while acknowledging the new high, pointed out that such milestones are “not technically significant” during bull markets but suggested the market could be “On track maybe for top of $125,000 to $150,000 by end of August”.
• Aggressive Targets: Technical analyst Gert van Lagen has set a much higher price level between $300,000 and $320,000, pointing to Bitcoin’s breakout from a 4-year bullish Megaphone Pattern and suggesting another 170% to 190% Bitcoin rally using Elliott Wave Theory.

Corporate Treasury Adoption Accelerates

Beyond ETF flows, corporate adoption continues to provide fundamental support for Bitcoin’s price. A slew of bitcoin-focused treasury companies, including Michael Saylor’s MicroStrategy and newly-launched firm Twenty One Capital added to the buying spree, helping lift BTC to a new record.

This corporate treasury trend represents a structural shift in how businesses view Bitcoin as a legitimate treasury asset, providing additional buying pressure beyond traditional retail and institutional investors.

Regulatory Winds Shifting Favorable

The regulatory landscape has also become increasingly supportive of Bitcoin’s growth. Positive regulatory shifts in the U.S. have further supported the market, lending legitimacy of digital assets as an asset class for investors. Additionally, the U.S. Senate this week advanced a bill to regulate stablecoins while several states and sovereign nations are moving forward with legislation to create bitcoin reserves.

Short Liquidations Fuel Momentum

The technical breakout has been accompanied by significant forced buying from short liquidations. Bitcoin on Binance recorded its largest short liquidation yet over the past 24 hours, as sentiment quickly shifted, with short traders losing $66.3 million within this period as Bitcoin jumped from $103,195 to $105,535.

Short liquidation tends to open the door for further market rallies, as it indicates likely new capital inflow into the market, fueling momentum, according to market analysis.

Potential Headwinds on the Horizon

Despite the bullish momentum, some analysts are warning of potential selling pressure ahead. Market data suggests investors may be moving their Bitcoin because new market data suggests it is overbought, with Bitcoin crossing the 70-line mark on the chart, meaning its current market price is far higher than its intrinsic value.

Additionally, Alphractal CEO João Wedson recommended caution and patience for investors, noting that BTC heatmaps reveal price movement toward high-leverage zones, suggesting market makers may target overconfident traders for liquidations.

Sustainable Rally or Speculative Bubble?

What sets this rally apart from previous Bitcoin surges is its apparent institutional foundation. Analysts suggested that the current rally is more sustainable than previous ones, citing favorable financial conditions, stablecoin flows and lack of speculative fervor observed in earlier peaks, showing signs of a stronger foundation.

The cryptocurrency has benefited from both liquidity in the stock market giving a boost to risk assets, as well as recent risk-off scenarios related to concerns about tariffs and deficits in the U.S. that have driven gains in gold as well as alternate assets like bitcoin.

Market Structure Showing Strength

On-chain data supports the bullish narrative, with less selling pressure, indicated by bitcoin inflows into exchanges and increased liquidity in the crypto market as measured by new records for the amount of Tether stablecoin USDT sitting on exchanges.

Cumulative inflows into exchange-traded funds that track the price of bitcoin surpassed $40 billion last week and have seen just two days of outflows in May, demonstrating sustained institutional appetite.