Dogecoin Surges 10%, Bitcoin Nears $104K Amid Renewed ‘Risk-on’ Sentiment

2025-05-12 15:03:31 Primitive Reading

What to know:

Bitcoin neared $104,000 for the first time in over two months amid a crypto market rebound.
Ethereum's Pectra upgrade and political support in the U.S. are driving altcoin gains.
President Trump's positive outlook on U.S.-China trade talks is boosting market sentiment.

Bitcoin pushed past the six-figure mark for the first time in over two months, coming within a hair of $104,000 in early Asian hours Saturday, as crypto markets staged a sharp rebound on improving macro sentiment and Ethereum’s latest network upgrade.

Dogecoin led the gains among majors with a 10% rally, while ether rose 3.5% following the successful implementation of its long-awaited Pectra upgrade, bringing weekly gains over 30%.

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Other majors, including Solana , Cardano , xrp , and BNB Chain’s , rose between 2% and 6%, driven by a shift in investor sentiment from caution to risk-on.

The move follows a string of pro-crypto developments in the U.S. this week. On Wednesday, New Hampshire passed a bill allowing the state to create a strategic Bitcoin reserve. Arizona followed suit a day later with its own legislation supporting a crypto reserve. The state-level momentum comes as political leaders lean further into digital asset policy ahead of the November election in some states.

President Donald Trump’s bullish remarks on upcoming U.S.-China trade talks also helped ease market jitters. The comments coincided with the U.S. and U.K. signing a fresh trade agreement that will remove reciprocal tariffs and lower duties on American goods, further lifting sentiment across equities and crypto alike.

“President Trump's optimistic outlook on this weekend's China trade talks is easing fears of an escalating trade war, encouraging traders to shift capital back into asset classes like cryptocurrencies,” said Jeff Mei, COO at BTSE, in a message to CoinDesk. “This could very well drive bitcoin back towards its all-time high and potentially surpass it.”

BTC trades about 5% below its January record high of over $108,700 as of European morning hours on Saturday.

Analysts say the recent moves mark a decisive break from the sluggish price action that plagued altcoins through much of March and April.

“Traders believe the crypto industry may have finally found its second wind as a hedge against market uncertainty,” Nick Ruck, director at LVRG Research, told CoinDesk in a Telegram chat.

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