WASHINGTON/LONDON (Reuters) — Bitcoin hit a two-year high on Tuesday, on track for its biggest two-day rally this year, on signs large players were buying the cryptocurrency, while smaller rival ether topped $3,200 for the first time since 2022.
The crypto giant has rallied more than 10% in two sessions, helped by Monday’s disclosure from crypto investor and software firm MicroStrategy, opens new tab that it had recently purchased about 3,000 bitcoins for an outlay of $155 million.
The original and largest cryptocurrency by market value has also been buoyed recently by the approval of bitcoin-owning exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States.
On Monday, trading volumes in several of the funds spiked and crypto-linked firms rallied too, in contrast to nervous broader markets.
Bitcoin was last up 4.7% at $57,232, while ether reached as high as $3,290, its highest since April 2022. A major incentive right now is the bitcoin halving event in April. This process is designed to slow the release of bitcoin, whose supply is capped at 21 million – of which 19 million have already been mined – by cutting the reward for producing the tokens in half.
Bitcoin has gained 32% in value so far in February, heading for its largest one-month gain since January 2023, and momentum is building beyond the investment community.
Ether has risen at an even faster pace this month, heading for a 41% gain. Anticipation is growing among market participants over the possible regulatory approval of spot ether ETFs, which has helped this latest rise in price.
Crypto stocks also enjoyed a boost on Tuesday, with shares of crypto exchange Coinbase (COIN.O), opens new tab up 5.8%, while bitcoin miners Marathon Digital (MARA.O), opens new tab and Riot Platforms (RIOT.O), opens new tab climbed 5.7% and 0.7%, respectively.
The largest bitcoin ETF Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC.P), opens new tab was last up 4.4%.
