The Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) price is down about 0.5% since this time yesterday, currently trading for US$108,360.
Still, that sees the world's original and biggest crypto up 96.6% over 12 months, according to data from CoinMarketCap.
Or enough to turn a $6,000 investment into $11,796.
Now, the current Bitcoin price isn't the new record we're talking about. (We'll get to that record shortly.)
BTC is currently still down 3.2% from its all-time high of US$111,970, notched on 23 May.
Still, its past 12-month performance blows away most of the investment competition.
Over the last 12 months, for example, the Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: .IXIC) returned 10.9%. And the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has gained 10.8%.
Gold investors will have done better than index trackers. But the yellow metal still underperformed Bitcoin, with the gold price up 41.3% since this time last year.
That's obviously been a boon for ASX gold stocks, with the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Gold Index (ASX: XGD) surging 51.3% over this same period.
Still, none of that comes close to the 96.6% gains achieved by the surging Bitcoin price.
So, what about that new record?
Image source: Getty Images
Bitcoin price posts new record weekly close
Mena Theodorou, co-founder at crypto exchange Coinstash, noted that, "Bitcoin rounded off the week by notching its highest weekly close in history at US$109,229."
Theodorou cited a number of tailwinds helping send the Bitcoin price to a new weekly closing high:
Pop culture and politics collided with crypto this week, as rapper Drake name-dropped Bitcoin in his latest track, and Elon Musk announced the formation of the America Party, explicitly stating it would embrace Bitcoin as he branded 'fiat as hopeless'…
Crypto's cultural relevance is clearly growing, and this kind of mainstream attention, whether from artists or entrepreneurs, tends to filter through to investor confidence over time.
Theodorou added, "In regulatory circles, the recently passed 'Big Beautiful Bill' is set to add over US$3 trillion to US debt, reinforcing the narrative for Bitcoin."
What about Ethereum?
Institutional interest in Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH), the world's number two crypto, is growing rapidly, as witnessed by inflows into spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
Though, unlike the Bitcoin price, the Ethereum price has a long way to go before resetting its own all-time highs.
Ethereum is currently trading for US$2,535. That's down 10.6% since this time last year, and down 48.2% from the record high price of US$4,892, posted on 16 November 2021.
As for those institutional investors, Theodorou said:
Institutional interest in ETH continues to grow. Spot ETH ETFs recorded net inflows of 76,892 ETH this week, worth US$194.54 million…
Across all spot ETFs, more than US$4.57 billion in ETH is now held, highlighting Ethereum's rising profile among institutional investors.
