Bitcoin moved past the $20,000 mark for first time in over two months on Saturday in the latest sign of a steady recovery for the top crypto coin.
The cryptocurrency rose 4.6% to $20,853 at 01:01 GMT on Saturday, adding $922 to its previous close.
Bitcoin is now up 26.4% from the year’s low of $16,496 on January 1.
Ether, the coin linked to the ethereum blockchain network, rose 5.91 % to $1,536.9 on Saturday, adding $85.90 to its previous close.
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Cryptocurrencies are still licking their wounds after the carnage of 2022. The overall global crypto market cap has risen 5% to $871 billion since January 1 but it’s still down over 57% from this time last year.
Cryptocurrency spot trading volumes remain similarly muted after slumping about 48% in December versus the previous month to $544 billion, their lowest level since December 2019, CryptoCompare data showed.
While lower trading volumes are common around the turn of the year, the crypto market apathy has been exacerbated by a “general exodus” of active retail investors, according to Arcane Research.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong is pushing on with plans to draw up a shortlist of cryptocurrencies it will allow retailers to trade in on its exchanges.
The territory’s securities watchdog will propose a subset of acceptable tokens, its chief executive said on Wednesday, as it looks to make the city more friendly to crypto startups.
Hong Kong’s move to allow retail trading in cryptocurrencies has come after months of turmoil in the sector, with the collapse of crypto exchange FTX the latest blow.
- Reuters with additional editing by Sean O’Meara
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