(May 4): Bitcoin rose above US$80,000 for the first time in more than three months as Asian stocks approached record levels.
The original cryptocurrency climbed as much as 2.1% to US$80,594 on Monday, its highest level since Jan 31. Smaller tokens including Ether also advanced.
The crypto gains came as MSCI’s Asian equities gauge neared the all-time high it reached in February — just before the US-Israeli war on Iran began — after stronger-than-expected corporate earnings from technology companies last week fuelled investor appetite.
Markets are digesting mixed messages over Iran. US President Donald Trump said the US would begin guiding ships not involved in the conflict through the Strait of Hormuz, but a senior Iranian official warned that Tehran would consider any US interference in the Strait a ceasefire breach, according to an AFP report.
Bitcoin reached a record of just above US$126,000 in October last year, before a months-long swoon that dragged it down to around US$60,000 in February. The token has gradually regained ground from there, driven in part by improved institutional demand. US Bitcoin exchange-traded funds saw US$630 million of net inflows on Friday, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
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Sean McNulty, Asia-Pacific derivatives trading lead at FalconX, said institutional activity in the derivatives market suggests “high conviction in a move toward US$85,000 by mid-month".
Optimism that a US deal may be reached on a key stablecoin yield provision, potentially clearing a path for sweeping crypto legislation to move forward in the Senate, has also lifted traders’ spirits, according to Richard Galvin, executive chairman at crypto investment firm DACM. It’s “early days", he added, but US$80,000 “has been a big psychological barrier".
Bitcoin pared some gains to trade just above US$80,000 as of 7am in London on Monday.
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Caroline Mauron, co-founder at Orbit Markets, said a decisive break above US$80,000 for Bitcoin would provide “further positive momentum to the asset class".
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