The crypto market appears to be warming up to incoming SEC commissioner Paul Atkins.

He was rumored for the pick but was nominated today and is friendly to crypto. That's helped to lift bitcoin to $98,250 from a low of $94,800 just a few hours ago.

Bitcoin 10 m
Bitcoin 10 mins

Alt coins have been outperforming bitcoin today, including ethereum which is up 7.5% to the highest since June.

ETH daily
ETH daily

I believe that we need to see bitcoin rise above $100,000 to signal broader market strength and risk appetite in 2025. If so, it could continue to $120,000 and also signal a return to intense risk-taking in capital markets, the kind we saw in 2021. We're seeing that on the fringes at the moment with some meme stocks starting to run but the conditions are beginning to fall into place for a frenzy.