Bitcoin price topped $100,000 for the first time ever late Wednesday and hit a new high in early trading on Thursday.

The new gains added to a rally sparked by the election of former President Donald Trump, who is seen as friendly towards cryptocurrencies.

In a post on Truth Social on Thursday, Trump acknowledged the gains: “CONGRATULATIONS BITCOINERS!!! $100,000!!! YOU’RE WELCOME!!!.”

Since Election Day, the price of Bitcoin has increased by almost 50%. This performance far exceeds that of the S&P 500, which is up about 5% over the same period.

But the rapid pace of Bitcoin growth presents investors with a dilemma: Is it too late to buy into the rally, or will the good times continue?

Investment analysts who spoke to ABC News expressed optimism about further gains, citing expectations of a friendly regulatory environment under Trump and further interest rate cuts at the Federal Reserve.

They added that the increase in momentum alone could lure investors off the sidelines and push Bitcoin price higher.

However, analysts warned that Bitcoin remains an extremely volatile asset, making it nearly impossible to predict what its price will do next.

“Bitcoin clearly has a lot in its favor,” said Mark Hamrick, Washington bureau chief and senior economic analyst at Bankrate.com.

“The problem with Bitcoin is that it is unclear what determines the underlying fundamentals of the asset,” Hamrick added. “If someone asked me where Bitcoin would go in the next week, next month, or next year, I would have no idea.”

At least for now, Bitcoin is in full swing. The recent surge coincided with good news for the crypto industry: Trump’s nomination of Paul Atkins as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday.

Atkins, the CEO of consulting firm Pomak Partners, serves as co-chair of the Token Alliance, an organization that advocates for cryptocurrencies.

Trump, once a crypto critic, has vowed to strengthen the cryptocurrency sector and ease regulations enforced by the Biden administration. Trump has also promised to create the federal government’s first national strategic Bitcoin reserve.

The positive developments for crypto go far beyond Trump. In recent months, the Fed has cut interest rates and predicted further rate cuts. In theory, lower interest rates could reduce borrowing costs for consumers and lead to more investment in Bitcoin.

The strong performance this year was also fueled by the US approval of Bitcoin ETFs, or exchange-traded funds, in January. Bitcoin ETFs allow investors to buy into an asset that tracks Bitcoin’s price movement while avoiding the inconvenience and risks of purchasing the crypto coin itself.

Bret Kenwell, US investment analyst at eToro, said these favorable conditions for Bitcoin are likely to continue.

“These same catalysts ensure that the longer-term outlook for Bitcoin still looks bright,” Kenwell said in a statement to ABC News.

Nevertheless, experts warned about Bitcoin’s volatility. Despite its meteoric rise this year, Bitcoin experienced a temporary downturn that lost a third of its value, Kenwell noted.

It wasn’t until 2021 that Bitcoin experienced a downturn that halved its value. The same thing happened a year earlier, when the initial outbreak of the pandemic caused panic among investors.

Steve Sosnick, chief strategist at Interactive Brokers, told ABC News that Bitcoin has proven sensitive to negative developments in cryptocurrencies and the broader market, in part because it is difficult to determine the asset’s value.

Stock investors typically judge the value of a company’s shares based on the valuation of its services or products. Since Bitcoin is currently only used as a store of value, the lack of clear utility leaves little basis for assessing Bitcoin’s value, contributing to its volatile price movements, Sosnick added.

“Bitcoin isn’t really used in the real world,” Sosnick said, noting that the asset could still rise.

“Right now the public is very excited about Bitcoin,” Sosnick said. “It’s foolish to say that any number – whether it’s $75,000 or $100,000 or something like that – means the end of the surge.”