Bitcoin is back above $4,500 for the first time in a month

LONDON — Bitcoin is at a one month high against the dollar on Sunday as it continues to rise.

Bitcoin is up 2.3% to $4,538.90 at 3.30 p.m. BST (10.30 a.m. ET):

bitcoin

It marks the first time bitcoin has been above $4,500 since early September and continues a rally that began on Thursday.

Commenting on the rally on Friday, Mati Greenspan, a senior market analyst at trading platform eToro, said: "European regulators have been cracking down on all things crypto lately and are considering introducing more regulatory framework that could hamper the growth of blockchain based assets.

"On the other hand, Brazil's biggest financial firm [XP Investimentos] has announced that they plan to add bitcoin trading for their clients. In Japan, where Bitcoin has been fully legalized as of April, a large energy supplier called Remixpoint has now added the option for their clients to pay in Bitcoin. This move is actually very strategic, not as much for retail customers as for corporations."

The rally also corresponds with renewed interest in bitcoin from investment banks. The Wall Street Journal last week reported that Goldman Sachs is looking at setting up a bitcoin trading operation and Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman said recently that the cryptocurrency is "certainly more than just a fad."

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