Bitcoin soars to all-time peak just shy of $112,000

By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss

NEW YORK (Reuters) -Bitcoin climbed to an all-time high near $112,000 late on Wednesday, bolstered by an increased risk appetite and persistent institutional demand as traditional financial market players embraced the world's largest cryptocurrency.

It touched a record peak of $111,988.90 and was last up 0.4% at $111,259. Since the beginning of the year, bitcoin has advanced more than 18%.

"Bitcoin is the only asset I am aware of where it becomes less risky as it grows in size," wrote Anthony Pompliano, founder and CEO of Professional Capital Management in a letter to investors on Wednesday.

"There were few sophisticated capital allocators who could gain exposure when bitcoin was $100-200 billion market cap. Now that the asset is measured in trillions, almost every capital allocator on the planet can put the exposure on."

The Trump administration's crypto-friendly policies have bolstered digital assets overall, opening pools of capital to the sector.

For instance, Trump Media & Technology Group, run by the U.S. president's family, is looking to launch an exchange-traded fund that will invest in multiple crypto tokens, including bitcoin, ether, solana and ripple, according to a filing with the U.S. markets regulator on Tuesday.

Bitcoin's rally also spread to other cryptocurrencies.

Ether, the second-largest digital currency in terms of market capitalization, also rallied, hitting a one-month high of $2,794.95. It last traded up 5.4% at $2,740.99.

Other crypto-related stocks also gained. Strategy, co-founded by the leading voice in the bitcoin treasury movement Michael Saylor, rose 4.7% to $415.41, while Coinbase Global advanced 5.4% to $373.85.

(Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Editing by Chris Reese and Rod Nickel)