Bitcoin Breaks Above $105,000 Under New SEC Chairman with Crypto Market Soaring
The recent appointment of Paul Atkins as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chairman has shown a large positive impact on the cryptocurrency market, as the leading cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, spiked above the $100,000 mark earlier this week. Such a drastic price jump has taken place for the first time since January when Donald Trump took president’s office.
With many experts predicting Bitcoin to show a six-digit growth by the end of the year, investors, analysts, and crypto holders are watching closely how this change in the regulatory leadership is reshaping the crypto space and is fueling price action in the crypto market.
Pro-crypto Atkins takes SEC chair’s office
Paul Atkins, a former SEC commissioner and a well-known supporter of limited regulation and free-market principles, took office as the new chairman of the SEC at the end of April 2025. The crypto community celebrated his appointment as a major victory for the crypto industry, hoping that he would finally push for more crypto-friendly rules in the US financial landscape.
When he was sworn in, Atkins stated that the prime task of the SEC under his leadership would be the creation of a fair and adequate regulation for cryptocurrencies and exchange-traded products based on them. That speech made a ripple effect on the crypto market and the cryptocurrency community.
SEC-Ripple legal case is finally over
One of the most resonating developments of Atkins taking the SEC leadership has been the much-anticipated shift in the legal case against the San Francisco-based blockchain company Ripple. Last week, federal judge Analisa Torres, who deals with this case in court, received an official letter from the SEC about settling the lawsuit against Ripple.
Thus, the loudest legal crypto case that started under Jay Clayton as the SEC’s chairman in December 2020, then continued for four years under Gary Gensler helming the regulatory agency, has been settled by Paul Atkins. Besides, the SEC began dropping multiple cases and scrutinies against crypto exchanges, which Gensler started, explaining his hostility towards crypto companies by protecting investors’ interests. This means high prospects for XRP within the US since this cryptocurrency is no longer qualified as an unregistered security and nor are other altcoins, which Gensler claimed to be that.
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Ripple’s victory in this case has an important meaning for the cryptocurrency space in general since it symbolized regulatory uncertainty and witch-hunt against the whole industry. Many are now again viewing XRP as a legalized investment asset in the US, with many new, eager investors flowing in, according to various on-chain data.
Bitcoin breaks above $105k, Ethereum regains $2,000
Markets reacted to Atkins’s appointment with Bitcoin going up and surging above $94,000. Last week, after the scheduled FOMC meeting, when the Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell announced that the interest rates were going to be maintained at the same level, Bitcoin skyrocketed above the $100,000 level for the first time since January. On Friday, it came really close to the $103,900 mark.
Today, it hit $105,600 per coin after rising by 1.34% over the past day. This is a major sign of investor trust and confidence in Bitcoin strengthening once again. This is the second time this year that Bitcoin has entered the six-digit zone. It is now on track to regain its January all-time high of $109,100. Many experts consider it a sign of Bitcoin entering a new bull cycle.
The second-largest cryptocurrency in terms of market cap, Ethereum, did not lag behind and followed Bitcoin. In the second half of last week, it suddenly spiked by more than 38%, rapidly rising from $1,780 to $2,490. Today, it topped the $2,600 price level but was unable to fix on it and faced a 5% rebound, falling back to $2,470.
XRP soared by 33% over the same period last week and reached $2.41, leaving $$2.11 behind. During the weekend, after a small rebound, XRP reached $2.47. A correction that followed has taken XRP back to $2.34. Solana (SOL), Chainlink (LINK), and other top altcoins followed suit, doubling their gains.
Influencers predicting Bitcoin above $200,000 this year
Many big names in the cryptocurrency space have recently predicted Bitcoin to rocket to $200,000 or close to it by the end of this year. Among them was the author of the “Rich Dad Poor Dad” book, Robert Kiyosaki, a supporter of not only Bitcoin but also gold and silver. In late April, he predicted Bitcoin to reach from $180,000 to $200,000 by the time 2025 ends. Another Bitcoin expert who stepped forward with a similar prediction was El Salvador’s BTC advisor, Max Keiser. He also named a $250,000 target for the pioneer cryptocurrency this year.
