The leading digital currency Bitcoin surpassed the crucial $30,000 level on Tuesday — for the first time in 10 months.
In Asian trade, Bitcoin reached a high of $30,438 and closed at $30,233, representing a 1.96 percent increase. Bitcoin has risen almost 6 percent since the beginning of the month, following a 23 percent increase in March.
Investors are keeping a close eye on the US inflation report, which is expected to be released on Wednesday. They will use this report to determine the Federal Reserve’s next move, as the banking sector experienced turmoil in March, resulting in expectations that the central bank would ease up on rate hikes to alleviate pressure on the sector.
Tim Frost, CEO of Yield App, a crypto yield platform, commented that the recent surge in bitcoin’s price is like a breath of fresh air after a long, cold crypto winter.
According to CoinShares, a digital asset manager, crypto investment products attracted $57 million in inflows last week, with most of the money focused on bitcoin, although the volume was low. This brings digital asset flows back into positive territory for the year.
Matthew Dibb, the Chief Investment Officer at Astronaut Capital, a Singapore-based crypto asset manager, stated that “the market has done a great job at culling all leveraged participants in the past 18 months. If Bitcoin can survive the week over $30,000, we are going higher.”
Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency, was hovering near last week’s roughly eight-month high of $1,942.50. Ether increased 1.56 percent to $1,915.56.
Crypto investors are anticipating a major revamp of the Ethereum blockchain on Wednesday, dubbed Shapella, which is set to allow them to access over $33 billion worth of ether currency. The software upgrade will enable market participants to redeem their “staked ether,” which are coins that they have deposited and locked up on the network over the past three years in return for interest.
While Shapella is not expected to directly drive sell pressure on ether, volatility may be heightened around the event, according to Bank of America strategist Alkesh Shah.
On Tuesday, Masato Kanda, Japan’s top currency diplomat, said that the Group of Seven (G7) advanced economies would consider the best ways to assist developing countries in introducing central bank digital currencies (CBDC) consistent with appropriate international standards.
