Bitcoin Hits All-Time High — But Nobody Seems to Care

The Breakdown

Blockworks

Investing, Business

4.8 • 786 Ratings

🗓️ 23 May 2025

⏱️ 13 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Bitcoin just notched a new all-time high, but this time, there’s no mania, no frenzy—just a shrug. NLW breaks down the weirdest ATH in Bitcoin’s history, why it happened without a clear catalyst, and what it says about BTC’s shifting role in the global financial system. Plus, a look at Japan’s spiraling bond market, rising U.S. fiscal fears, and what it all means for safe haven assets. Is Bitcoin finally decoupling—or are we just seeing the early signs of a bigger credit event? Enjoying this content? SUBSCRIBE to the Podcast: https://pod.link/1438693620 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheBreakdownBW Subscribe to the newsletter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://blockworks.co/newsletter/thebreakdown⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Join the discussion: https://discord.gg/VrKRrfKCz8 Follow on Twitter: NLW: https://twitter.com/nlw Breakdown: https://twitter.com/BreakdownBW

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome back to The Breakdown with me, NLW.
0:09.3	It's a daily podcast on macro, Bitcoin, and the big picture power shifts remaking our world.
0:18.3	What's going on, guys? It is Thursday, May 22nd, and today we are talking about the new Bitcoin all-time high, plus a little bit of macro.
0:26.2	Before we get into that, however, if you are enjoying the breakdown, please go subscribe to it, give it a rating, give it a review, or if you want to dive deeper into the conversation, come join us on the Breakers Discord.
0:35.0	You can find a link of the show notes are going to bit.LY slash breakdown pod. Well, friends, the weight is over. Bitcoin is at a new all-time high.
0:43.7	Yesterday saw a morning fake out with Bitcoin touching 109,500 before plunging back down to
0:49.2	106,000. That was technically a new all-time high, but not by much and certainly not by enough for
0:55.2	everyone to get excited.
0:56.7	Thankfully, Bitcoin spared me the awkwardness of doing an all-time high show while decidedly
1:00.4	below those levels because in the evening, price searched again, reaching a top of precisely
1:04.8	111,88 at around 11 o'clock on the East Coast.
1:09.6	110,000 looked like the solid level throughout the night,
1:12.4	and we're currently trading just above 111,000 as I record.
1:16.1	There's really not a whole lot to say about the price beyond that.
1:19.1	Yesterday, we covered the point that there really isn't an obvious catalyst for Bitcoin to hit a new all-time high.
1:23.8	Bloomberg is covering the price action as being about optimism on U.S. regulations,
1:28.7	but really not a whole lot has changed on that front in the past few days. Bitcoin certainly didn't spike in response to
1:33.4	the Senate waving through the Stablecoin bill on Monday night. Price action on Tuesday was green,
1:37.4	but only registered a 1.2% gain to recover losses from Monday. The block is claiming this is just
1:42.3	a continuation of the recovery from Liberation
1:44.3	Day that has aided all risk assets, but yesterday wasn't a risk-on day, with both major
1:48.4	stock indices closing in the red. In other words, this is a very weird all-time high. Alex
	...

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