SINGAPORE: Bitcoin crossed the US$120,000 level for the first time on Monday (Jul 14), marking a major milestone for the world's largest cryptocurrency as investors bet on long-sought policy wins for the industry this week.

Bitcoin scaled a record high of US$121,207.55 in the Asian session on Monday, before pulling back slightly to last trade 1.6 per cent higher at US$121,015.42.

Starting on Monday, the United States House of Representatives will debate a series of Bills to provide the digital asset industry with the nation's regulatory framework it has long demanded.

Those demands have resonated with US President Donald Trump, who has called himself the "crypto president" and urged policymakers to revamp rules in favour of the industry.

"It's riding a number of tailwinds at the moment," said IG market analyst Tony Sycamore, citing strong institutional demand, expectations of further gains and support from Trump as reasons for the bullishness.

"It's been a very, very, strong move over the past six or seven days and it's hard to see where it stops now; it looks like it can easily have a look at the US$125,000 level," he said.

The surge in bitcoin, which is up 29 per cent for the year thus far, has sparked a broader rally across other cryptocurrencies over the past few weeks even in the face of Trump's chaotic tariffs.

Ether, the second-largest token, scaled a more than five-month top of US$3,050.90, while XRP and Solana gained about 3 per cent each.

The sector's total market value has swelled to about US$3.78 trillion, according to data from CoinMarketCap.

Earlier this month, Washington declared the week of Jul 14 as "crypto week", where members of Congress are set to vote on the Genius Act, the Clarity Act, and the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act.

The most significant Bill is the Genius Act, which would create federal rules for stablecoins.

Elsewhere, prices of crypto-listed exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in Hong Kong similarly surged.

Spot bitcoin ETFs launched by China AMC, Harvest and Bosera all scaled record highs, while the three ether ETFs managed by the asset managers were up roughly 2 per cent each.