Bitcoin tops $26,000 as sentiment holds up after US steps
Bitcoin climbed to $26,000 for the first time since June on growing optimism that the digital asset sector will weather the latest turmoil in the US financial system.
Bitcoin climbed to $26,000 for the first time since June on growing optimism that the digital asset sector will weather the latest turmoil in the US financial system.
The biggest cryptocurrency gained for a fourth day, rising as much as 7.9% to $26,142. It last traded above $26,000 in June. It has rallied around 29% since Silicon Valley Bank failed on March 10. Data from derivatives trading website Coinglass shows that more than $280 million in short crypto positions were liquidated in the past 24 hours.
The biggest cryptocurrency gained for a fourth day, rising as much as 7.9% to $26,142. It last traded above $26,000 in June. It has rallied around 29% since Silicon Valley Bank failed on March 10. Data from derivatives trading website Coinglass shows that more than $280 million in short crypto positions were liquidated in the past 24 hours.
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“While dark clouds sit over Silicon Valley, Bitcoin is booming,” Fiona Cincotta, senior financial market analyst at City Index, said by email. “Cryptocurrency extends its impressive rally, as traditional banks struggle to maintain customer trust. Bitcoin has often been seen as an alternative to the traditional banking system, and as uncertainty in that sector increases, Bitcoin is seeing an increase in safe-haven flows .”
The market for virtual digital tokens stabilized after a nervous week that saw three crypto-friendly banks in the US collapse as local regulators took steps to strengthen the country’s banking sector, including pledging to fully protect depositors. The moves also helped bring the world’s second-largest stablecoin, USDC, back to its intended $1 peg, which cracked over the weekend after the shutdown of Silicon Valley Bank.
The government’s bailout of Silicon Valley Bank depositors was seen as a boon by many investors, helping push Bitcoin past its 200-day moving average of $19,740, said Hayden Hughes, co-founder of social trading platform Alpha Impact. Sustained moves above the 200-DMA are usually early indicators of a bull market, he said.
“If we stay at 25k, the next stops will be 28 and 30k,” Hughes said.
A rise in underlying US consumer prices in February by the most in five months helped support crypto prices. Bitcoin has often been touted as a hedge against inflation.
The 0.5% increase in the US consumer price index, which excludes food and energy, leaves the Federal Reserve in a tough position as it tries to prevent continued rapid inflation without adding to the turmoil in the banking sector.
This story has been published from an agency feed without changes to the text.
