Ether briefly traded above the $1,700 level before giving back its gains on Monday afternoon
Crypto currency prices rallied on Monday, pushing bitcoin to its highest level in more than a month.
Bitcoin gained 3 per cent to $27,921. The world’s largest crypto currency traded above the $28,000 mark for much of the day, putting the token at its highest level since August 17, as per data from Coin Metrics. Ether briefly traded above the $1,700 level before giving back its gains on Monday afternoon.
The reason behind bitcoin’s rise was not immediately clear. There were several ether futures exchange-traded funds set to launch Monday, a likely positive indication for the crypto industry, which has been waiting to see whether the U.S. SEC will approve a true bitcoin exchange-traded fund in the coming months.
Bitcoin has gained for four weeks in a row and is now around 70 per cent higher for the year. Nevertheless, the bitcoin is still more than 50 per cent below its all-time highs.
Even with the recent rally, trading volumes for bitcoin have been light, as per Citi strategist David Glass.
Though the global crypto market cap has increased around 30 per cent Year to Date, bitcoin volumes are struggling to sustain higher levels. Volumes (spot plus futures) have been trending lower since March, and currently stand around 57 per cent below 2022 averages. Separately, this year’s crypto rally has also seen an increase in Bitcoin dominance — defined as Bitcoin’s share of total crypto market cap — which has steadied near 50 per cent, Glass said in a note to clients Friday.
Equities tied to crypto currencies were also rising, with Riot Platforms and Marathon Digital each climbing over 7 per cent in premarket trading.