Bitcoin Cryptocurrency Rises To $51,000, Hits Its Highest Level In Two Weeks
Hit the highest level in more than two weeks, buoyed by broader positive sentiment in financial markets
The largest cryptocurrency has advanced 4% in the last two days and at one point hit $51,524 on Friday in Asian trading. Ether, the second-largest token, was close to $4,100.
Risk appetite has improved in global markets, evidenced by a record close for the S&P 500 on Thursday. It remains to be seen whether a receding tide of central bank liquidity will bring greater challenges to cryptocurrency demand.
“I view Bitcoin as a high beta risk asset,” said Ross Mayfield, an investment strategy analyst at Baird. “When risk appetite increases, it increases a lot. And when risk appetite goes down, it can go down a lot. It’s not perfectly correlated, definitely too simple a read, but certainly not a volatility hedge.”
A technical study shows that Bitcoin has broken above the upper limit of a technical pattern called a pennant and has scaled its 20-day moving average.
While that suggests more gains are on the way, other technical signs point to the $53,000-$55,000 zone as a potential test of the strength of such a rally.
Cryptocurrency-related stocks in Asia, such as Woori Technology Investment Co., Remixpoint Inc., and Ceres Inc., got a tailwind from Bitcoin’s recent performance.
The digital currency is up 76% so far in 2021, on track for the third year of gains.
