Bitcoin
continued its climb Monday as traders took news of another crypto bankruptcy in their stride and placed bets on a Federal Reserve “pivot” to cutting interest rates.
The price of the No. 1 token briefly topped $23,100 Monday, after touching $23,333.83 Saturday for the first time since Aug. 19, according to Coin Metrics. The jump brings bitcoin up almost 39% since the start of January.
Ether
, the second-biggest digital coin, rallied as high as $1,664.78 on Saturday. That’s the first time it has surpassed $1,600 since Nov. 7, 2022. It was last trading at $1,637.40 apiece.
Bitcoin has kicked off 2023 on a positive note, with investors hoping for a reversal in the monetary tightening that spooked market players last year.
The Fed and other central banks began cutting interest rates in 2022, shocking holders of risky asset classes, like stocks and digital tokens. Publicly-listed tech stocks and private venture capital-backed start-ups particularly took a beating, as investors sought protection in assets perceived as safer, such as cash and bonds.
