Bitcoin has had a spectacular start to 2023.
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Bitcoin
and other cryptocurrencies were rising Thursday, heading back toward five-month highs notched in earlier trading. Analysts are eyeing $25,000 as a key price level with major macro catalysts due in the day ahead and on Friday.
The price of Bitcoin has risen 2% over the past 24 hours to $23,000. The largest digital asset surged above $23,700 late Wednesday, the highest levels since early last August, before slipping back, with Bitcoin now heading higher and poised for more action.
“As January’s crypto rebound maintains momentum, Bitcoin and Ethereum notched a third straight week of gains, both up more than 30% since the year began,” analysts at crypto exchange
Coinbase Global
(ticker: COIN) wrote in a note Wednesday. “While some market analysts are beginning to believe that the worst of the crypto downturn could be behind us, others are far more tentative about crypto’s hot start to 2023.”
It has been a roaring start to the year for digital assets, which have rallied back above levels not seen since crypto exchange FTX’s November bankruptcy rocked markets. Cryptos have led risk-sensitive assets higher, with the
Dow Jones Industrial Average
and
S&P 500
also notching gains as investors became more optimistic that inflation is cooling and that Federal Reserve monetary policy will become less aggressive.
U.S. fourth-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) data due later Thursday and the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index release on Friday will both add color to the economic picture, providing the next catalysts for cryptocurrencies and stocks. The two asset classes have become correlated across the past year amid high inflation and rising interest rates, which dampen demand for riskier bets.
Beyond Bitcoin,
Ether
—the second-largest crypto—rose 4% to above $1,600. Smaller cryptos or altcoins were also in the green, with both
Cardano
and
Polygon
gaining 5%. Memecoins were also strong, with
Dogecoin
and
Shiba Inu
each up 3%.
Write to Jack Denton at jack.denton@barrons.com
Credit: marketwatch.com