Bitcoin is tantalizing investors with a strong advance that's bringing its value close to $100,000 per coin. While buying into the cryptocurrency can mean strapping in for a volatile ride, one bullish hedge fund manager sees continued momentum if bitcoin can hit six figures.

As of Wednesday afternoon, the price of bitcoin sits around $98,740. The iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) jumped roughly 3.8% to 56.53 in the stock market today. It's just shy of its Nov. 22 high of 56.86.

Bitcoin's value is up more than 115% since the start of 2024. The asset's most dramatic rise came following the U.S. election in November, with Donald Trump's victory raising expectations of a crypto-friendly administration and pullback in regulation. The cryptocurrency has surged about 40% from the election until now.

Its value could go even higher — with a surge of momentum once bitcoin passes the $100,000 mark, according to a crypto hedge fund manager. "When a stock breaks a major round number, it not only hits it, it runs way past," Roppel Report founder Jim Roppel told Investor's Business Daily's "Monthly Market Report."

Roppel says momentum behind bitcoin will continue, boosted by press coverage of the cryptocurrency's milestone and the stock market's risk-on mentality.

Bitcoin's Run Boosted By Trump

Bitcoin bottomed in early August, shortly after then-candidate Donald Trump appeared at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville, Tenn., in late July. Trump has called for a strategic reserve of cryptocurrency held by the government.

Momentum in bitcoin continued after Trump's election, with crypto-leveraged MicroStrategy (MSTR) buying an additional 15,400 bitcoins, worth $1.5 billion, in late November. While the company nominally specializes in data analytics and security software, its corporate strategy of converting stock sales to bitcoin makes it the largest corporate holder of the cryptocurrency and a rough proxy for bitcoin's value.

"Initially, people thought he might be absolutely crazy, and now he looks kind of more like a genius," said Roppel, referring to MicroStrategy Executive Chairman Michael Saylor. "If bitcoin goes higher, MicroStrategy is going to go significantly higher."

Even with his bullish outlook, Roppel cautioned investors about managing risk at current levels. Chasing an extended move, especially in something that has a volatile nature, can lead to investors getting burned.

Tesla And Gold

Other perceived winners of a bitcoin boom include Tesla (TSLA), led by crypto proponent Elon Musk. The EV company has made its cars available for purchase in select cryptocurrencies in the past, including bitcoin and dogecoin. Musk himself is set to join the Trump administration in an advisory role as co-head of the Department of Government Efficiency.

The bullish move in crypto has come at a time when gold has pulled back, with Roppel seeing the traditional safe-haven asset losing prominence. "Bitcoin is a better gold, and the market agrees," he said.

Fed chair Jerome Powell, meanwhile, likened the digital asset to gold while speaking at the New York Times DealBook Summit on Wednesday.

Follow Mike Juang on X at @mikejuangnews and on Threads at @namedvillage.

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