Bitcoin exploded to a record high of $112,052 late Wednesday afternoon, pushed up by a red-hot rally in tech stocks led by Nvidia, whose surge helped carry the rest of the market straight into the close. The rally broke past the previous all-time high of $111,999, set back in May. At the closing bell, Bitcoin hovered around $110,947.49, up 1.9% on the day, according to Coin Metrics. This move didn’t come out of nowhere. Bitcoin has been stuck in a tight zone for weeks, even as billions of dollars poured into Bitcoin ETFs. But it wasn’t the funds doing the heavy lifting this time. Public companies buying Bitcoin directly outpaced the ETFs in the second quarter, giving the market its first real push in a while. Even with all that action, Bitcoin was only up 2% in the last month, until today changed the game. Nvidia’s market cap touches $4 trillion as tech leads Wednesday’s rally wasn’t limited to crypto. Over in equities, Nvidia briefly hit a $4 trillion market cap, becoming the first company to reach that number even for a moment. That triggered a tech-wide boost that lifted the Nasdaq Composite to a new record close, while the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.6% and 0.5%, respectively. Investors also brushed off the newest tariff moves from President Donald Trump, showing they were more focused on risk assets than White House policy shifts. The connection is simple: when traders get aggressive and pile into growth stocks, Bitcoin usually joins the ride. Despite being labeled “digital gold” by institutions, it still moves like a high-risk play. It rises and falls with stocks when sentiment turns risk-on. That’s what happened today—tech ripped, and Bitcoin followed. Expectations for Bitcoin breaking new highs this summer have been building. Corporate treasuries have been loading up, and lawmakers in Washington, D.C. are inching closer to passing long-awaited crypto legislation. The combination of money flowing in and possible regulatory clarity is setting the table for more price jumps in the coming weeks. Traders expect Bitcoin to run past $120K With Crypto Week approaching in D.C., traders are getting more aggressive. Ryan Gorman, chief strategy officer at Uranium Digital, said this might just be the beginning. “With crypto week on the horizon next week in DC, and a likely flood of positive momentum heading into the dog days of summer, bullish sentiment and thinner trading volumes could see prices gap up to $120,000 or higher by the end of next week,” Ryan said. He added that open call interest outweighing puts “normally reveals traders are bullish and expect upward price momentum to continue.” This bullish behavior has been building for a while. But what’s different now is the pace. Corporate buying is ramping up. Retail is waking back up. Options markets are leaning hard toward calls. And for once, everyone’s looking ahead instead of bracing for a sell-off. Meanwhile, U.S. stock futures stayed mostly flat Wednesday evening. Futures for the S&P 500, Nasdaq 100, and Dow Jones barely moved after recouping some losses from the recent tariff-driven slide earlier in the day. The calm didn’t rattle crypto traders, though. They’re still focused on momentum. Chris Kline, the chief operating officer and cofounder of BitcoinIRA, pointed out that macroeconomic conditions haven’t changed. “The same fundamentals of a scarce asset are at play amid record-breaking budgets and debt ceilings,” Chris said . He also mentioned that the regulatory environment is becoming more crypto-friendly, and that Bitcoin is finally gaining real traction among institutional players. But that wasn’t all. Chris also brought up growing speculation about Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s future. “The rumor mill has continued to accelerate speculation that Fed Chair Jerome Powell may either step down or be removed, which has crypto bulls excited about a potential rate cut,” he said. Lower interest rates would make risky assets like Bitcoin even more appealing. Chris wrapped it up by saying, “This is a perfect storm for even the smallest catalyst to springboard Bitcoin and crypto overall to new price discovery levels and … more volatility.” KEY Difference Wire helps crypto brands break through and dominate headlines fast