Bitcoin Soars Toward Record High, Ether and XRP Pop. What’s Driving the Crypto Rally.

Bitcoin is now trading about 1% off the record high it hit last month. (GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images)

Bitcoin was racking up more gains Monday, putting the cryptocurrency on the brink of a record high.

The world’s largest token by total market capitalization was up 3.6% to $121,988 over the past 24 hours, according to data from CoinDesk. It’s now trading about 1% off the record price it hit in mid-July.

Several factors have driven the latest run higher, including an executive order President Donald Trump signed on Thursday that will open up Americans’ 401(k) plans to cryptocurrencies. It’s a massive win for digital assets: According to the Investment Company Institute, 401(k)s held $8.9 trillion in assets as of September last year.

Other tokens were also climbing Monday. Ethereum was up 1.6%, Solana was up 1.8%, and XRP was up 0.7% over the past 24 hours, according to data from the crypto exchange Kraken.

Write to George Glover at george.glover@dowjones.com