Bitcoin Price Makes Another Run at $100K as U.S. Traders Return After Thanksgiving

One week after its first attempt, bitcoin (BTC) is once again approaching the $100,000 milestone on Friday as crypto prices surged higher alongside the return of U.S. traders following Thanksgiving.

The Coindesk Bitcoin Index climbed to a $98,690 session high during early U.S. hours, advancing 3.3% over the past 24 hours. The broad-market CoinDesk 20 Index surged 6.2% during the same period, indicating that altcoins led the advance. XRP, ADA, RENDER and HBAR booked double-digit gains during the day.

Traditional U.S. markets are having a shortened session today after being closed on Thursday's holiday. U.S.-listed bitcoin miners — which don't always rise just because the price of bitcoin gains —, are moving higher, led by Bitdeer's (BTDR) 15% advance to notch a fresh all-time high above $14. Major miners including MARA Holdings (MARA), Riot Platforms (RIOT), were all up 5%-10% in the first hours of the session. Crypto equities Coinbase (COIN), MicroStrategy (MSTR) and Semler Scientific (SMLR) lagged behind the miners.

Bitcoin futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) briefly surpassed the $100,000 level during the day before slightly retreating, per TradingView data. That's the second occasion after first hitting the milestone last Friday.

The price premium on futures relative to the spot market suggests strong institutional participation, with open interest for bitcoin CME futures sitting at all-time high levels.

The Coinbase Price Premium, which measures BTC spot price on Coinbase relative to the off-shore exchange Binance, also bounced back to positive territory since bitcoin pulled back below $91,000 earlier this week. The Coinbase Premium underscores that the rally is primarily driven by American market participants.

"Judging by order size, Coinbase whales are driving this bitcoin rally," Ki Young Ju, CEO of CryptoQuant, said in an X post.