Bitcoin prices, July 26, 2020.
Bitcoin‘s price crossed into five figures on Sunday to hit its highest level in nearly two months. However, it still lags Ethereum’s ether token, which recently traded at 13-month highs.
- Bitcoin rose to $10,135 at 10:05 UTC – a level last seen on June 2.
- The biggest cryptocurrency by market value is trading near $9,970 at press time, representing a 4% gain on a 24-hour basis and 8% gains on a week-to-date basis.
- "The DeFi-led surge in Ethereum’s ether token, the second-largest cryptocurrency, seems to have spilled over into the bitcoin market," said John Ng Pangilinan, managing partner at Singapore-based Signum Capital.
- Ether’s price rose to a 13-month high of $319 early Friday and is currently trading at $310 – up over 9% on a 24-hour basis and 30% this week alone.
- The token, which powers Ethereum’s blockchain, has gained 140% this year, leaving bitcoin, up 40% on a year-to-date basis, far behind.
- Bitcoin is outshining gold, which has appreciated by 25% this year.
- However, gold is trading close to its record high of $1,920 reached in 2011, while bitcoin is still down 50% from its lifetime high of $20,000 hit in December 2017.
- The U.S. Federal Reserve's massive liquidity injections and the negative yield on the inflation-adjusted US bonds look to have powered gains in gold, an inflation-hedge.
- Bitcoin, however, struggled to draw hedging bids over the past two months and was locked in the narrow range of $9,000 to $10,000.
- Some investors expect bitcoin to chart stronger gains in the near future as the cryptocurrency has breached a bearish trendline falling from December 2017 and June 2019 highs.
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