Bitcoin’s (BTC) price climbed over 1% during the Asian trading hours on Monday, jumping from roughly $91,480 to $92,500. This positions the apex cryptocurrency to target a five-day winning streak – the longest since October 2025.
At one point, prices topped $93,000, before retreating to the $92,000-$93,000 range. Major altcoins such as Ether (ETH), XRP, and Solana (SOL) are up between 0.7% and 1%, respectively. Meanwhile, leading accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) announced that it is set to lean more into crypto-related operations on the back of positive regulatory developments in the U.S.
PwC Expands Crypto Services as U.S. Regulations Ease Under Trump
The Big Four accounting firm is making a major shift to embrace digital assets after years of caution. While speaking to the Financial Times, PwC’s U.S. Senior Partner and CEO, Paul Griggs, cited the passage of the GENIUS stablecoin act and the broader pro-crypto shift among U.S. regulators like the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) as the factors behind its decision to deepen its engagement with crypto clients. He added that more constructive rule-making helps provide a clearer framework for institutional adoption of cryptocurrencies in the United States.
“The GENIUS Act and the regulatory rulemaking around stablecoin, I expect, will create more conviction around leaning into that product and that asset class. The tokenization of things will certainly continue to evolve as well. PwC has to be in that ecosystem,” said Griggs.
The move marks a sharp U-turn in the stance of one of the largest accounting and consulting firms in the world after years of keeping crypto at arm’s length, largely due to regulatory uncertainty and enforcement actions against industry players before the second Trump administration, which made it difficult for service providers to assess risk and build compliance processes.
Since his re-election in November 2024, President Donald Trump has spearheaded a subsequent regulatory transformation toward a more crypto-friendly stance by U.S. regulators, which has improved the outlook for stablecoins, tokenization, and broader infrastructure stack.
Central to this shift is the GENIUS Act, signed into law in July 2025, which established the first clear federal framework for fiat-pegged cryptocurrencies, called stablecoins. The legislation implemented custody, reserve, and disclosure standards for dollar-backed tokens, opening the door for banks and large financial institutions to issue their own stablecoins.
PwC also highlighted growing interest among its clients in using stablecoins to improve payment efficiency and liquidity management, while pointing out real-world asset tokenization (RWA) as a structural trend that will continue to reshape capital markets. Stablecoin adoption has become increasingly common over the past year as banks and fintech firms explore programmable settlement and faster cross-border transfers.
According to Griggs, the firm is now “hyper-engaged” in expanding both its auditing and consulting businesses to work with crypto-related clients. The firm has been advising customers on utilizing crypto assets, including stablecoins, to enhance payments. The company recently hired Cheryl Lesnik, who specializes in managing digital asset clients, as a partner, and currently provides auditing services to bitcoin mining giant MARA Holdings.
Meanwhile, KPMG, another Big Four accounting firm, noted that crypto adoption met its “tipping point” in 2025 and has been providing compliance advice and risk management services around crypto products. Last May, Deloitte published its first digital assets roadmap report for crypto accounting.
Bitcoin, Gold, Silver Surge as Investors Seek Safety After U.S.-Venezuela Strikes
Bitcoin and the broader crypto market remained mostly depressed through December as U.S.-based investors liquidated their positions at a loss to offset capital gains and reduce their tax liability. Investors tend to intentionally realize losses on underperforming assets to lower the tax owed on profitable sales. BTC underperformed the Nasdaq, gold, and other precious metals through 2025, ending the year with a 6% loss. Its performance was particularly weak during the final trading weeks of the year, especially in North America.
The alpha crypto’s latest uptick coincides with renewed geopolitical stress caused by the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by the U.S. military on Saturday. This signals the notion that bitcoin attracts safe-haven demand, alongside gold and silver, which recorded their best yearly performance since 1979 last year, growing by 60% and 170%, respectively.
In an email to crypto media outlet CoinDesk, Ryan Lee, chief analyst at leading crypto trading platform Bitget, said that he views the “simultaneous” surge across multiple asset classes following the U.S. military action in Venezuela as a textbook “flight to quality” move. Safe havens such as gold, silver, and bitcoin are rallying sharply as investors price in elevated geopolitical risk that either persists or escalates in 2026.
For the time being, oil remains relatively contained around the $60 per barrel mark, helping limit immediate inflationary pressure, but the markets are clearly discounting the risk of future energy disruptions and tighter liquidity conditions that may force the Federal Reserve to keep its benchmark interest rates higher for longer.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin (BTC) is trading at $92,577 – up 1.43% in 24 hours.
