Bitcoin hits a 6-month high as the total crypto market regains $85 billion in value
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Bitcoin notched a six-month high on Thursday morning, trading under $25,000.
- The crypto market has tacked on $85 billion in value in the past day, according to Messari.
- US regulatory scrutiny of crypto doesn't appear to be impacting investor sentiment.
Bitcoin's price hit a six-month high on Thursday as the cryptocurrency market's total value rose by nearly $85 billion to top $1.1 trillion.
The world's largest crypto is trading around $24,376, up 7.3% in the past 24 hours, according to Messari.
Ethereum, the second largest crypto by market value, is trading 6.7% higher at $1,673 as well. The crypto market broadly has been on a tear since the start of the year, with bitcoin and ether rallying 49% and 39% year-to-date.
This comes amid a broader rally in risk assets, with the Nasdaq Composite notching double-digit gains since the start of this year.
"The market has shown a more positive sentiment over the last few weeks which can be seen by futures basis being in contango, put call ratio at lowest levels, but also traditional markets are in more positive territory since the beginning of the year," Luuk Strijers, Chief Commercial Officer at crypto exchange Deribit, told Insider.
Investors' risk appetite appear to be growing amid an expected dovish turn by the Federal Reserve in the coming months. The central bank delivered its smallest interest-rate hike in nearly a year at the begining of this month, giving traders leeway to pour into more speculative bets like high-growth stocks and cryptocurrencies.
Tey ElRjula, the cofounder and CEO of blockchain startup FLUUS.com, says that a new protocol called Ordinals has also caused an increasing number of users to flock to Bitcoin's network. Ordinals allows non-fungible tokens to be minted on its blockchain.
"The increase in price can be attributed to several factors, mainly the adoption of the Ordinals protocol," ElRjula told Insider. "It has resulted in a renewed interest in the development of Bitcoin (BTC) and an upsurge in the average block size, as an increasing number of users are joining the network."
US regulatory scrutiny of the crypto industry doesn't appear to have impacted investor sentiment either.
The top securities regulator is going after Binance-branded stablecoin BUSD, according to the Wall Street Journal on Sunday. Stablecoins are crypto coins pegged to a reference asset and often backed by assets such as fiat money or exchange-traded commodities.
Although the crackdown caused $1.4 billion in redemptions for the token in a matter of days, the report did not heavily impact broader crypto prices.
However, crypto markets aren't in the clear yet. Macro conditions are still shaky given still-high inflation, and traders are hanging on the Fed's every word for clues as to the direction of monetary policy.
"While it's exciting to see Bitcoin hitting a six-month high, there may still be some volatility in the market until inflation concerns are fully addressed," ElRjula added. "However, the overall outlook for the rest of the year is bullish, with wider adoption of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies expected."
Contributer : Business Insider https://ift.tt/Jo2TGxp
Reviewed by mimisabreena
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Friday, February 17, 2023
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