Bitcoin broke through another milestone in Friday's European trading session, rising above $118,780 to extend its run of new all-time highs in recent days.
The leading cryptocurrency has surged over 8% this week and has doubled over the past 12 months, up from $70K in early November before the US Presidential election was won by Donald Trump.
The Trump administration has touted supportive policies for cryptocurrencies, including an executive order to establish a national reserve of cryptocurrencies, with major financial institutions and retail investors also steadily accumulating bitcoin and other major digital coins and the exchange-traded funds that track them.
Bitcoin has also started to display the dislocation from other financial instruments that supporters have long trumpeted, with no effect from Donald Trump's tariffs, tensions in the Middle East or Russia, or disappointing economic figures.
"Stocks might keep flinching at every tariff headline, but bitcoin doesn’t care," says market analyst Chris Beauchamp at IG.
"[Bitcoin] is becoming exactly what its fans have said it will be, an asset that remains aloof from political machinations.
"It has no supply chain to disrupt and no balance sheet to worry about. Instead, flows and conviction dominate, and here’s where bitcoin comes into its own."
An inflow of institutional money and a more favourable regulatory environment in the US have provided the "perfect backdrop" to the rally, he added, seemingly taking more energy from Trump’s round of tariff letters this week.
"Whether it can survive a broader selloff in equities if and when tariffs take effect remains to be seen, but for now the cryptocurrency remains the safe haven, leaving gold trailing far behind in recent days," said IG's Beauchamp.
Next week is "officially crypto week" in Washington, DC, with lawmakers expected to vote on a range of crypto legislation, said analyst Kenny Polcari at Slatestone Wealth. "Get ready. Lots can happen over the weekend – we’ve seen that."
Bitcoin hitting a new all-time high brings increased risk for those who currently hold it, warned Rob Jardin, chief digital officer at cybersecurity firm NymVPN.
He noted that spikes in the value of digital assets often spark attention from cybercriminals looking to exploit both individual investors and platforms.
"We typically see a spike in phishing attacks, wallet hacks, and social engineering scams during periods of heightened market activity," Jardin said.
"If you are in possession of Bitcoin and haven’t taken the necessary security measures in the past, details of your investment may have been published in a data leak, putting you at risk of being scammed."
He said recent incidents of physical attacks and kidnapping against people holding large sums of cryptocurrency "should push people to consider taking their digital security more seriously".
This includes hardware wallets, two-factor authentication and taking a cautious approach with unexpected messages or offers.
A consequence of the new highs has been to lift the many companies on both sides of the Atlantic that are pursuing bitcoin treasury strategies.
Shares in UK-listed companies holding bitcoin rose strongly on Friday after the digital asset notched new records, while MicroStrategy Incorporated (NASDAQ:MSTR) was up another 2.9% in pre-market trading, adding to almost 9% gain over the past week.