Bitcoin remains a long way from its all-time high of $69,000 as of November 2021.
Bitcoin is up nearly 55 percent year-to-date and is near its highest level since June 2022
Amid expectations that the US Fed is likely to cut interest rates later this year to boost the banking sector, the largest cryptocurrency Bitcoin is up about 4.9 percent to around $25,610 on Friday. Ether also gained about 3 percent.
According to a Bloomberg report, Bitcoin is up nearly 55 percent so far this year and is near its highest level since June 2022. However, it remains a long way from its all-time high of $69,000 from November 2021.
“Any sign of interest rate cuts should push funds into riskier assets, which will likely be enough to drive more institutional funds into the crypto market, regardless of whether macro traders understand or believe in the longer-term Bitcoin investment thesis,” he wrote. Noelle Acheson, author of the “Crypto Is Macro Now” newsletter, the report said.
The global banking system, especially the US, is facing a serious problem, with two banks, Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, already falling. While SVB collapsed last week, Signature Bank ran on Sunday. Now the American First Republic Bank and the Swiss lender Credit Suisse are also struggling.
Shares of First Republic Bank are down more than 70 percent in the past five trading sessions. Rating agencies S&P and Fitch have also pointed to risks in First Republic Bank’s funding and liquidity.
Over the past year, the US Federal Reserve has aggressively raised interest rates to keep inflation under control after two years of a pandemic. The Fed was expected to raise rates again in its forthcoming policy review in March, but analysts are no longer sure of such a possibility amid the turmoil in the banking sector since last week.
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