WASHINGTON: Bitcoin hit the US$50,000 level for the first time in more than two years as the world’s largest cryptocurrency was buoyed by expectations of interest rate cuts later this year and last month’s regulatory nod for US exchange-traded funds designed to track its price.
Crypto stocks also enjoyed a boost on Monday, with crypto exchange Coinbase up 4.9% and crypto miners Riot Platforms and Marathon Digital up 10.8% and 11.9%, respectively.The price of ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency, was up 4.12% at US$2,607.57. Greco in particular noted that outflows from Grayscale Investment’s Grayscale Bitcoin Trust — which received approval from the US Securities and Exchange Commission in January to convert to an ETF — have begun to slow.