Bitcoin price hits six-week high on crypto initiatives by financial titans; Ethereum up 4%, other tokens rally
Bitcoin price jumped to a six-week high as sentiment in the crypto market improved after interest from major players from the traditional financial sector.
The world’s largest digital asset gained over 7% to above $28,850.
Its market value jumped to $559.5 billion. Bitcoin prices have rallied more than 70% this year so far.
Among smaller coins, Ethereum, the second largest virtual currency, rose nearly 5% to $1,813.79 with a market capitalisation of $218.3 billion.
Cardano and Solana also traded over 7% and 4% higher, respectively.
Crypto market was buoyed on the back of the start of EDX Markets, a digital-asset exchange backed by firms including Citadel Securities, Fidelity Digital Assets and Charles Schwab Corp.
Moreover, BlackRock Inc. and WisdomTree Inc.
have applied in quick succession to launch spot US Bitcoin exchange-traded funds, Bloomberg reported.
The entry of traditional institutions in the crypto market fuelled optimism among digital asset investors after the gloom caused by a US Securities and Exchange Commission’s crypto crackdown.
Earlier, the US regulator had filed lawsuits against exchange operators Binance Holdings Ltd. and Coinbase Global Inc. and designated a raft of digital tokens as unregistered securities.
A rout in crypto last year erased $1.5 trillion and contributed to blowups such as the bankruptcy of the FTX exchange.
Bitcoin remains far below its pandemic-era, liquidity-fueled 2021 peak of almost $69,000, the Bloomberg report said.
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