Bitcoin flies to new all-time highs, topping $118,000 as institutions pile into ETFs

CM= your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNTIn this photo illustration a Bitcoin logo seen displayed on a smartphone with stock market percentages in the background

Omar Marques | SOPA Images | LightRocket | Getty ImagesBitcoin ext its rally on Friday, rising to new records overnight after bitcoin ETFs saw their biggest day of inflows of the year

The price of the flagship cryptocurrency was last higher by 3% at $117,297. 10, according to Coin Metrics

Stocks tied to the bitcoin price were off their highs

Ether ETFs recorded their second-biggest day of inflows ever at $383. 1 million, according to SoSoValue

The rally began more slowly on Wednesday, ing the release of the minutes of the Federal Reserve meeting, which showed a divergence among officials how aggressively they would be willing to cut interest rates

Bitcoin, also helped by a rally in stocks, ran up into the close, reaching its first new record since May 22. "That's when we started to really take out the top range," said Markus Thielen, CEO of 10x Re. "It's expected that whoever comes in to lead the Fed next is going to be dovish

We also know, that saving the budget deficit has of been pushed under the rug," he added, nodding to the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," which is expected to increase the federal deficit – and which can be a positive catalyst for bitcoin

Stock Chart IconStock chart iconBitcoin this weekThis week's move higher triggered a big wave of short liquidations

When traders use leverage to short bitcoin and the cryptocurrency's price rises, they buy bitcoin back from the market to close their positions, which pushes the price up and causes more positions to be liquidated

Fed independence has been a theme for institutions going back to April 17

That's when inflows into bitcoin ETFs ramped up, and when President Donald Trump hinted that the "termination" of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell could be necessary given the central bank's stance on interest rates

Investors have been expecting bitcoin to reach new records in the second half of the year as corporate treasuries accelerate their bitcoin buying sprees and Congress gets closer to passing crypto legislation

It would take a macro event to knock the bitcoin price or suppress it, according to Thielen. "Powell might turn dovish end of the month at the Fed meeting, and maybe he will not," Thielen said. "So we have to take the market relatively short-term simply because there are no real macro catalysts during the summer, and normally, long-only equity investors also pare back their risk into the summer. "For the week, bitcoin is on track for a nearly 10% gain, while ether is up more than 20%

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