The price of Bitcoin (BTC) surged 11% in overnight trading to near $25,000 U.S. despite tougher enforcement actions from U.S. regulators and threats of an industry wide crackdown from politicians in Washington, D.C.
Bitcoin is currently trading at $24,650 U.S. and was close to $25,000 U.S. at several points. The largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization trades around the clock, 24 hours a day.
Similarly, the price of Ethereum (ETH), the second largest cryptocurrency, rose 8% to trade at $1,684.59 U.S.
The value of the entire cryptocurrency market has risen more than $84 billion U.S. in the past 24 hours, extending a rally that began at the start of this year.
The latest move higher comes despite increased regulatory scrutiny from U.S. authorities on digital assets.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has threatened several crypto firms with legal action if they don’t stop minting stablecoins, which are cryptocurrencies tied to another asset, typically the U.S. dollar or gold bullion.
SEC Chair Gary Gensler and several lawmakers in Washington, D.C. have threatened new regulations on cryptocurrencies in recent weeks, highlighting the need for enhanced oversight of the industry in the wake of the $8 billion U.S. collapse of the FTX exchange.
Regardless, Bitcoin’s price is now at its highest level since August 2022, having risen 49% since the start of January.
Last year, nearly $1.4 trillion U.S. was wiped off the crypto market after several firms went bankrupt.
Rising interest rates to fight inflation also weighed on the cryptocurrency market. Bitcoin is closely correlated to equity markets, particularly technology stocks.
Bullish sentiment towards riskier assets appears to have now returned, aided by a view that any economic downturn might not be as bad as feared, and that the U.S. Federal Reserve will slow its pace of interest rate increases.
