Bitcoin managed to reclaim $100,000 for the first time since February this week as economic tensions in the US eased. The broader crypto market responded in kind, with total market capitalisation rising over 8% to approximately $3.37 trillion by Friday. Sentiment indicators reflected the rally, as the Crypto Fear and Greed Index climbed from 67 to 73, reinforcing its position within the “greed” zone. Gains were stronger across the altcoin markets, with most of the top 99 closing the week in the green, and several notching double-digit gains. Why is Bitcoin going up? As of late Asian trading hours on Friday, Bitcoin was up over 6% on the week, with most major crypto assets also spiking. The late week surge followed reports of renewed US-China trade talks and rising geopolitical tensions between India and Pakistan, two catalysts that injected fresh volatility into global risk markets. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed plans to meet with China’s Ministry of Commerce in Switzerland to discuss trade barriers. The announcement was met with a constructive response from Beijing, fuelling optimism across risk markets and helping lift sentiment in the crypto sector. Adding to the bullish backdrop, a new US-UK trade dea l announced on May 8 further lifted sentiment. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady, with Fed Chair Jerome Powell warning that inflation risks remain elevated. However, the absence of unexpected tightening gave traders some reassurance, no rate cuts, but no unwelcome surprises either. That clarity, combined with a shift back toward risk appetite and fresh institutional inflows, helped propel Bitcoin higher. Institutional activity played a key role in sustaining the momentum. Data from Farside Investors shows that spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded cumulative net inflows of $142.3 million on May 7 alone. Inflows remained strong on May 8, with Bitcoin ETFs attracting another $117 million, led by BlackRock’s IBIT at $69 million. Bitcoin price outlook With Bitcoin seemingly stablising over the $100k mark, analysts were seen setting ambitious targets for the benchmark cryptocurrency. When writing, Bitcoin was trading roughly 5% below its all-time high of around $109K hit in late January this year, though several analysts believed a fresh all-time high may be due. In the near term, traders like AlphaBTC are eyeing a move toward $106,000. He pointed to Bitcoin’s breakout from an ascending parallel channel, with Fibonacci retracement levels lining up neatly with support zones. “It makes me think BTC has another leg to 106K+ before it corrects,” he said, noting the strength of the current trend. Others, like market analyst Skew, believe the recent rally was driven more by headlines than fundamentals, particularly news about US-UK trade agreements and speculation involving President Trump’s tariff strategies. That, he says, makes it a “crucial trading day,” where volume and passive flows will determine whether Bitcoin can hold ground above six figures or fall back under pressure. For now, the technicals are still supportive. BTC/USD recently cleared a key Fibonacci level at 1.618 and is now trading near a major volume-area high (VAH), according to analyst Patric H. BTC/USD perpetual futures 1-day chart. Source: Patric H. A sustained push from here could remove the final resistance before new all-time highs. Backing that theory, Bitcoin liquidation data on CoinGlass shows sellers are starting to thin out above $103K, which could give Bitcoin the space it needs for a clean breakout. Zooming out, some analysts are already looking far beyond the $100K zone. Pseudonymous analyst Egrag Crypto has placed a long-term target around $170,000 if BTC can pull off a clean break and close above $109K. However, anything short of that, he warns, could be just another bull trap. Joining Egrag was Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, who speculated a cycle top of a whopping between $500,000 and $1 million driven by institutional flows, government-level accumulation, and what he calls a “pro-crypto US administration.” Altcoin market recap The altcoin market rallied nearly 15% over the past week, climbing to $1.28 trillion by Friday. While renewed risk appetite played a big role, growing speculation around the start of altseason added fuel to the surge. Bitcoin dominance has been steadily rising, and some analysts are watching it closely for a potential shift. Historically, the 71% dominance level tends to mark the point where Bitcoin starts consolidating, giving altcoins room to run. Right now, BTC dominance sits around 64%, setting the stage for what could be a key retest, as noted by Rekt Capital. With altcoins making a strong comeback, the Altcoin Season Index jumped from 18 last week to 37, an early sign that risk appetite is returning to the market. The top performers were: Pepe Pepe (PEPE) jumped 41.3% over the past week and was trading at $0.00012 at the time of writing. This rally pushed its market cap up to $5.24 billion, its highest level since February. Source: CoinMarketCap Most of the gains came after Elon Musk shared a picture of Pepe the Frog and the Pepe memecoin mascot dressed in American-themed armor, sparking fresh excitement among investors. Musk has a history of moving markets with his tweets, especially with meme coins like Dogecoin (DOGE) and Pepe. PEPE also got a boost after forming a “double-bottom” pattern on the charts, a bullish signal in technical analysis that could mean more gains ahead in the coming weeks. Pyth Network Over the past 7 days, Pyth Network (PYTH) shot up 33% to around $0.20 at the time of writing, pushing its market cap to over $730 million. Daily trading volume also surged, jumping nearly 600% as of May 9 to hover above $225 million. Source: CoinMarketCap Most of these gains came after Jupiter Exchange announced it had integrated Pyth’s Express Relay into Juno, its new liquidity system. This integration allows traders to get the best possible price by tapping into Pyth’s real-time data feeds. Further investor hype also seems to be driven by the possibility that Pyth will reward its community members who qualified for the April Kaito leaderboard, potentially through a PYTH token airdrop by the end of this week. Pudgy Penguins Pudgy Penguins (PENGU) jumped 21% over the past week, with its market cap climbing past $4.9 billion at the time of writing. Daily trading volume also got a boost, rising 36% as about $540 million worth of tokens changed hands between traders. Source: CoinMarketCap The main catalyst that fueled the majority of its gains was its listing on Upbit, a top crypto exchange in South Korea, which added PENGU to its spot trading platform. On top of that, Pudgy Penguins’ NFT sales have been soaring lately. Data from Crypto Slam shows sales spiked 140% in the past 24 hours, pulling in $680,000 and making Pudgy Penguins the 7th most popular NFT collection in the world. The post Bitcoin reclaims $100K as analysts eye new ATH; PEPE, PYTH leads weekly profits appeared first on Invezz
