Bitcoin Briefly Tops $112K on Some Exchanges as Market Eyes Breakout; Ether Surges 6%

Bitcoin surged past the closely watched $110,000 level on Wednesday afternoon, briefly setting new highs on major exchanges before retreating just below its all-time peak.

The top cryptocurrency reached $110,770.05, breaking out of a weeks-long tight range during U.S. trading hours. It momentarily surpassed its May 22 record of $112,000 on platforms like Binance, Coinbase, and Bitstamp. However, according to price aggregators such as CoinDesk, CoinGecko, and CoinMarketCap, BTC narrowly missed setting a new all-time high on a consensus basis.

At press time, BTC was trading around $111,400, up 2.4% on the day. The rally also extended to Ethereum (ETH), which jumped 6% to $2,760, its highest level in over a month.

The move triggered major volatility in derivatives markets. Roughly $425 million worth of leveraged short positions were liquidated, according to CoinGlass, as short sellers were caught off guard by the sudden price spike.

Over recent weeks, the $110,000 zone has acted as a key resistance level, with frequent selloffs and short activity emerging as BTC approached that threshold. But this latest breakout has many speculating that momentum is building for a more decisive upward move.

Crypto-related stocks joined the rally. MicroStrategy (MSTR) rose 4.4% to $414, just shy of its 2025 high, though still below its all-time high of $543. Coinbase (COIN) gained 5%, while bitcoin miners Marathon Digital (MARA) and Riot Platforms (RIOT) advanced about 6%.

Despite the relatively calm tone of the market, some analysts believe the conditions are primed for another surge.

“Crypto feels so quiet, [while] bitcoin is ready to move,” wrote Charlie Morris, CIO at ByteTree, noting that BTC’s declining volatility is a classic precursor to major upside moves.
“The setup for the next one is looking good,” he added. “The quiet bulls are the best.”

Meanwhile, Joel Kruger, market strategist at LMAX Group, emphasized Ether’s resilience above key support zones, and pointed to growing demand from institutional investors anticipating Ethereum’s central role in asset tokenization and settlement infrastructure.

That sentiment was echoed by analysts at Bitwise, who called ETH one of the “cleanest” ways to capitalize on the tokenization boom, according to reporting by The Block.