The price of Bitcoin has risen above $48,000 U.S., reaching its highest level since December of last year.
The largest cryptocurrency by market value rose nearly 5% to $48,215 U.S. before fluctuating around that level. Bitcoin is now at its highest level of the year and the latest rally brings its year-to-date gains to nearly 5%.
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies had been, up until the last few weeks, mired in a downtrend similar to stocks. But a weekend break above $45,000 U.S., a key level of support, helped momentum grow for a bigger breakout.
Bitcoin has now gained 17% over the past week, although it still remains about 30% below the record high of $69,000 U.S. reached last November.
Other cryptocurrencies are also rallying higher currently. The MVIS CryptoCompare Digital Assets 100 index that tracks the performance of some of the largest digital assets is up 6.7% on the year.
