The price of Bitcoin (BTC) has reached $20,000 for the first time in history on Dec. 16. The historic milestone comes just over two weeks after breaking its previous all-time high.

At the same time, this rally is different from 2017’s due to several reasons that could help BTC soar even higher. These include growing institutional demand, the increasing perception among investors that BTC is a store of value, and stronger network fundamentals.

Institutional demand is fueling the Bitcoin rally

In December 2017, data suggested that retail and mainstream investors were behind the Bitcoin rally. At the time, CME BTC futures had just launched and there was a lack of institutional investment vehicles.

As such, the rally was mostly fueled by retail investors, which came to an abrupt stop after a strong whale-induced sell-off.

This time, institutional investor-focused platforms are seeing an explosive increase in trading activity. For instance, the CME BTC futures market recently notched a $1.27 billion open interest, ranking just behind OKEx as the second-largest in the global Bitcoin market.

Institutional investors are not likely to invest in Bitcoin with a short-term strategy. Many are increasingly viewing it as a digital store of value and an alternative to gold.

As Cointelegraph reported earlier, the rise in Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust premium suggests that institutions are increasingly looking for exposure to BTC and paying above the spot market price for the privilege.