Bitcoin traded back above the $22,000 price level as concern about a widening crackdown by regulators eases.
The largest cryptocurrency by market value jumped as much as 3.2% to $22,323 during New York trading, after turning negative earlier in the session. It has traded mostly below that level since a string of regulatory actions were unveiled last week. Binance Coin gained about 2%, while Ether increased 4.7%.
“It is interesting to me that you’re seeing crypto rally when you have the SEC continuing to crack down on a lot of these businesses,” said Shawn Cruz, head trading strategist at TD Ameritrade. “I’m not entirely certain I would expect that to remain.”
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Most cryptocurrencies fell Monday, with the native token of the Binance exchange dropping the most since a November market meltdown. The New York State Department of Financial Services directed Paxos Trust Co. to stop issuing new tokens of crypto’s third largest stablecoin, a Binance-branded coin known as BUSD that has roughly $16 billion in circulation. Paxos also noted that the US Securities and Exchange Commission had notified the firm about a potential enforcement action. Kraken reached a settlement with the SEC last week.
Crypto-related stocks also rose, with Coinbase Global Inc. halting a seven day slide, while MicroStrategy Inc. jumped almost 9%.
Bitcoin spent most of last year trading in tandem with stocks, especially tech companies’ shares. They all got hit when the Federal Reserve began a campaign of raising rates and reducing liquidity to arrest the fastest inflation in decades.
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The correlation broke off when FTX collapsed and cryptocurrencies plunged, only to return in the new year. The S&P 500 has added about 8% in 2023, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 has advanced 15%. Bitcoin has risen 34% in 2023, after tumbling 64% last year.
“We have observed that crypto markets tend to do well during US hours, a sign that institutional investors may be behind the buying interests,” said Teong Hng, chief executive at crypto investment firm Satori Research.
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