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Bitcoin surged past $100,000 for the first time since February on Thursday, buoyed by rising investor appetite for riskier assets following a breakthrough trade agreement between the United States and Britain.
“Now that the United States appears more reasonable and concludes agreements with other countries, cryptocurrencies are on the rise again,” said Stephane Ifrah, an analyst at crypto platform Coinhouse.
The milestone for the world’s largest cryptocurrency came as global stock markets mostly rose on news that U.S. President Donald Trump had reached a “full and comprehensive” trade deal with the United Kingdom — the first of what he said would be “many other deals.”
"I'm thrilled to announce that we have reached a breakthrough trade deal with the United Kingdom," Trump told reporters at the White House. He said the agreement would ease tariffs and promote bilateral trade, with Britain confirming that U.S. tariffs on British car exports would be cut from 27.5% to 10%.
“The trade deal news... sets the table for the market that it should expect more deals in coming weeks and months,” said Patrick O’Hare, analyst at Briefing.com. “From that vantage point, it is providing a sentiment boost.”
Markets had been turbulent since Trump’s April 2 “Liberation Day” tariff announcement but have stabilized in recent weeks amid growing optimism that further trade agreements could follow.
However, analysts warned that the real test lies in upcoming talks with China. U.S. and Chinese negotiators are set to meet Saturday and Sunday for their first discussions since Trump imposed a 145% tariff on Chinese goods. Beijing has retaliated with its own 125% levies.
“Cutting those [tariffs] would boost equity markets,” said Fawad Razaqzada, an analyst at City Index and FOREX.com. “But the real game-changer would be progress with China. And that’s where it gets murky.”
Despite hopes for a de-escalation, some analysts cautioned that the market may have already priced in too much optimism.
“It is clear the market is already pricing in some level of trade optimism... but without actual deals (outside of the U.S.-UK) inked, it's hard to justify further upside,” Razaqzada added.
Meanwhile, the European Union warned that it would target U.S. products — including planes and cars — worth 95 billion euros if negotiations with Washington fail.
Wall Street’s main indices moved higher in midday trading, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.8%. In Europe, Frankfurt led gains following better-than-expected German industrial production data, while Paris also rose. London’s FTSE 100 dipped 0.3% after the Bank of England trimmed its benchmark interest rate to 4.25% and flagged concerns over the impact of U.S. tariffs on global growth.
The pound edged higher against the dollar, while Bitcoin extended its rally to breach the $100,000 mark for the first time in three months.
In Asia, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Shanghai posted solid gains, tracking global market sentiment.
Elsewhere, Sweden and Norway left their benchmark interest rates unchanged but signaled the potential for future cuts amid economic uncertainty tied to U.S. trade policy.
The U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday paused further rate cuts, citing increased risks to inflation and employment targets, likely tied to Trump’s tariff campaign. Trump responded by criticizing Fed Chair Jerome Powell, again calling him a “fool” for not cutting rates more aggressively.
Analysts do not expect the Fed to lower interest rates until at least July.
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