Bitcoin rallies to six-month high
Bitcoin’s price on Thursday surged to its highest level since August, even as US regulators stepped up regulation pressure on cryptocurrency exchanges.
The largest crypto by market capitalization was trading up more than 11% at $24,619 per token as of 09:47 GMT. The value of the entire cryptocurrency market rose more than $76 billion (+8%) over the last 24 hours, according to Coinmarketcap.com.
The rally comes despite increased regulatory scrutiny from US authorities on digital currencies.
Last week, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged cryptocurrency exchange Kraken a $30 million fine for failing to “properly” register its staking program.
On Monday, the New York State Department of Financial Services told crypto firm Paxos to stop minting new Binance USD, or BUSD, stablecoins.
“The current regulatory environment surely looks like a headwind for the crypto market, but it seems like some money is moving from altcoins to Bitcoin, since Bitcoin is the only cryptocurrency that is labeled ‘commodity’ by the SEC chair,” an analyst at Japanese crypto firm Bitcoin Bank Yuya Hasegawa explained to CNBC, adding that “consequently, Bitcoin’s market dominance is on the rise.”
Last year, nearly $1.4 trillion was wiped off the crypto market amid bankruptcies in the sector. The turmoil was led by the collapse of the major exchange FTX.
According to Vijay Ayyar, vice president of corporate development and international at crypto exchange Luno, there are increasing signs that the market bottomed last November and has turned bullish.
“We are gaining in momentum here and any bad news is being shrugged off, typical signs that the market believes the worst is over,” the expert told the media outlet.
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