Bitcoin Hits New All-Time High of $126,199
Bitcoin (BTC) reached a new all-time high of $126,199 this week. This milestone shows that Bitcoin’s old four-year cycle no longer applies, says K33 Research.
Bitcoin’s New Market Cycle
Vetle Lunde, Head of Research at K33, said Bitcoin has entered a new market phase. The recent rally has lasted about 1,051 days since the 2022 low. This is similar to past bull markets, which lasted around 1,060 days.
However, Lunde says the traditional four-year cycle is outdated. He explains that Bitcoin’s market is now shaped by institutional adoption, ETF inflows, and positive crypto regulations.
“We firmly reject the outdated four-year cycle framework,” Lunde wrote. “Bitcoin has entered a new structural regime shaped by institutional adoption, ETF integration, and macro policy shifts.”
Institutional Adoption Drives Growth
- Previous market peaks were based on hopes for institutional adoption.
- In 2025, this adoption has become a reality.
- Major institutions like BlackRock, managing about $100 billion in Bitcoin, are now involved.
- Bitcoin is now a significant part of the global institutional market.
The report noted strong Bitcoin accumulation in 2025. Last week, combined exposure across US ETFs, perpetual futures, and CME contracts rose by 63,083 BTC. Sharp rises in exposure often match local market highs. But this surge followed a small pullback in September.
Bitcoin’s spot and futures trading also increased. Average daily spot volume hit $4.7 billion, a six-month high. Perpetual futures open interest rose by 16,642 BTC, the largest weekly increase since mid-July. This pushed total open interest back to yearly highs from September.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin trades near $123,500, up 1.5% in the last 24 hours.
