Bitcoin surpassed $100,000 for the first time since February on Thursday as President Donald Trump announced a trade agreement with the United Kingdom and plans to meet with Chinese president Xi Jinping in Geneva later this week.
The original cryptocurrency soared 5% in the last 24 hours, climbing to a high of $101,500 on Thursday, following the deal announcement as investors rushed back to risky assets after weeks of economic uncertainty. News of the deal lifted the rest of the crypto market as well. In the last 24 hours, Ethereum was up 13%, Solana was up 10%, and XRP was up 6%.
“The price jump comes on the heels of a trade agreement between the U.S. and U.K., as well as breaking news that U.S. and Chinese officials are preparing for renewed trade talks in Switzerland,” Nicholas Roberts-Huntley, cofounder and CEO of blockchain infrastructure Blueprint Finance, tells Fortune.
While the details of the U.K. deal have yet to be finalized, Trump said that he would roll back tariffs imposed on British automobiles, aluminum, and steel but leave a 10% baseline tariff in place. In return, the U.K will increase market access to billions of dollars’ worth of American exports including ethanol, beef, and soft drinks.
The deal with the U.K is the first such deal since Trump initiated negotiations with U.S. trading partners by threatening to impose hefty tariffs on a number of imports. On April 2, Trump announced a plan to impose a base levy and additional “reciprocal tariffs” on nearly all U.S. trading partners. The plan, which is expected to raise inflation and disrupt global supply chains, caused a historic market meltdown in which the S&P 500 lost 12% and Bitcoin lost 11% in the lead-up to April 9—when the plan was set to take effect.
Financial markets briefly rebounded when Trump announced a 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs, with the exception of China. In recent weeks, the stock market has remained volatile as Trump engages in trade negotiations with a number of foreign nations. However, Bitcoin, which is usually seen as a risky asset, has continued to climb. Since falling to a yearly low of $75,000 on April 8, Bitcoin has gained 35%.
The U.S. trade deal with the U.K. has come to a resolution, but America’s trade talks with other nations are ongoing. Trump and his team have been in negotiations with Canada, Japan, Italy, India, and other trading partners since April 2. Trump and China’s Xi are scheduled to meet over the weekend to begin talks to end the escalating trade war between the two countries.
“With these deals, there is hope for more such concessions, and with more deals and concessions will come more certainty and better market conditions,” Charles Wayn, cofounder of crypto data company Galxe, told Fortune.
