Bitcoin rose as high as USD 50,328 on Monday in the US and was trading at USD 49,980 as of 7:40 am Tuesday in Singapore.
Representational Image [Photo: IANS]
Bitcoin surged around USD 50,000 after briefly scaling the closely watched level for the first time in over two years. This is a remarkable comeback from the crypto scandals and wipeouts that cast doubt on the industry’s viability.
Bitcoin rose as high as USD 50,328 on Monday in the US and was trading at USD 49,980 as of 7:40 am Tuesday in Singapore.
It has tripled in value since the start of last year after a 64 per cent plunge in 2022. Bitcoin remains below the all-time high of almost USD 69,000 achieved in November 2021.
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The latest rally has been driven by optimism that last month’s US approval of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds is leading to greater mainstream acceptance.
Also, the resurgence in crypto prices comes as expectations of looser monetary policy burnish the allure of riskier assets.
Notably, the Bitcoin has recovered all its losses since the May 2022 implosion of stablecoin TerraUSD, which set in motion a wave of failures that ultimately helped bring down Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX exchange in November 2022.
Further, the shares of crypto-related companies also gained Monday with Bitcoin proxy MicroStrategy Inc. rising 11 per cent, trading platform Coinbase Global Inc. increasing 3.8 per cent and miner Marathon Digital Holdings Inc. jumping 14.2 per cent.
Nine US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds debuted on January 11, while the more than decade-old Grayscale Bitcoin Trust converted into an exchange-traded fund (ETF) the same day.
The accessibility of ETFs promises to widen the investor base for the token, and the new funds have attracted about USD 9 billion so far, while a more than USD 6 billion outflow from the Grayscale fund since its conversion seems to be losing steam.
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