NEW YORK, July 9 (Reuters) - Bitcoin climbed to an

all-time high near $112,000 late on Wednesday, bolstered by an

increased risk appetite and persistent institutional demand as

traditional financial market players embraced the world's

largest cryptocurrency.

It touched a record peak of $111,988.90 and was last

up 0.4% at $111,259. Since the beginning of the year, bitcoin

has advanced more than 18%.

"Bitcoin is the only asset I am aware of where it becomes

less risky as it grows in size," wrote Anthony Pompliano,

founder and CEO of Professional Capital Management in a letter

to investors on Wednesday.

"There were few sophisticated capital allocators who could

gain exposure when bitcoin was $100-200 billion market cap. Now

that the asset is measured in trillions, almost every capital

allocator on the planet can put the exposure on."

The Trump administration's crypto-friendly policies have

bolstered digital assets overall, opening pools of capital to

the sector.

For instance, Trump Media & Technology Group ( DJT ), run by

the U.S. president's family, is looking to launch an

exchange-traded fund that will invest in multiple crypto tokens,

including bitcoin, ether, solana and ripple, according to a

filing with the U.S. markets regulator on Tuesday.

Bitcoin's rally also spread to other cryptocurrencies.

Ether, the second-largest digital currency in terms of

market capitalization, also rallied, hitting a one-month high of

$2,794.95. It last traded up 5.4% at $2,740.99.

Other crypto-related stocks also gained. Strategy,

co-founded by the leading voice in the bitcoin treasury movement

Michael Saylor, rose 4.7% to $415.41, while Coinbase Global ( COIN )

advanced 5.4% to $373.85.