Bitcoin, Ether and other cryptocurrencies were on the rise on Friday, with the crypto space lifted by inflation data and a successful upgrade to the Ethereum blockchain network.
The price of Bitcoin has risen 2% in the past 24 hours to $30,750 – the biggest digital asset’s highest point since June last year, when the sell-off across the crypto space accelerated into a brutal bear market with multi-year lows. Bitcoin is up more than 80% so far this year, blowing past the psychologically important $30,000 mark for the first…
Bitcoin,
Ether,
and other cryptocurrencies were on the rise Friday, with the crypto space lifted by inflation data and a successful upgrade to the Ethereum blockchain network.
The price of Bitcoin has risen 2% in the past 24 hours to $30,750 – the biggest digital asset’s highest point since June last year, when the sell-off across the crypto space accelerated into a brutal bear market with multi-year lows. Bitcoin is up more than 80% so far this year, blowing past the psychologically important $30,000 mark for the first time in 10 months earlier this week and spurring another bull market.
Cryptos continue to be sensitive to macroeconomic forces, making their latest leg higher following Thursday’s producer price index inflation reading, which similarly saw a rally in stocks with
Dow Jones Industrial Average
and
S&P 500.
Several signs that inflation has cooled have raised expectations that the Federal Reserve will soon become more accommodative on monetary policy.
The central bank raised interest rates aggressively over the past year in an attempt to control decades of high price growth – the main force driving declines across stocks and crypto last year, as demand for riskier assets is dampened as rates rise. Bitcoin’s rally so far this year has come amid encouraging signs of inflation as well as stress in the banking sector, both of which have raised hopes that the biggest rate hikes are over and that the Fed may soon consider cutting rates.
A major upgrade to the Ethereum blockchain network known as “Shanghai” is also bolstering digital assets, sending Ether prices 6% higher to above $2,100 – the highest level since May 2022 – and fueling gains across altcoins, or less crypto.
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The Shanghai upgrade has completed Ethereum’s transition to proof-of-stake, which sees the network secured and transactions processed by Ether holders who temporarily unlock or “stake” their tokens, earning interest in the process. The successful upgrade has not resulted in selling pressure, as some had feared, and since it was supposed to make staking more popular, supporting prices, it has sparked a rally.
Across altcoins,
Cardano
climbed 7% and
Polygon
went up 4%. Memecoins were also present, too
Dogecoin
gets 7% and
Shiba Inu
up 2%.
Write to Jack Denton at [email protected]
