By Charlie Conchie
Bitcoin has climbed to its highest level in over a year in recent days as top financial firms including Blackrock doubled down on their commitment to crypto.
The cryptocurrency, which last year plunged to 70 per cent below its November 2021 peak, climbed above $31,000 over the weekend for the first time since June last year.
More than $1tn was wiped from the value of the crypto market in 2022 after a string of high-profile implosions, such as the collapse of crypto exchange FTX, and rising interest rates battered the market.
But the price of Bitcoin has now surged over 82 per cent since the beginning of the year as the market has settled.
“[The] main drivers of last week’s rally appear to have been several institutional news developments such as the Blackrock attempt to launch a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund,” Simon Peters, a crypto analyst at eToro, said.
Blackrock has been among the biggest names to have thrown its weight behind crypto. The world’s biggest asset manager previously struck a deal with Coinbase to allow its clients to access crypto trading.
While some firms have reined in their engagement with the space amidst a sell-off, Peters said that a recent move by Mastercard to expand its presence in the crypto market has bolstered confidence among investors.
“One of the biggest changes we’ve seen in the past two years for the crypto ecosystem is the increasing institutional involvement in processes and projects,” he added. “As the sector has looked for stability in the wake of difficult periods, the increasing involvement of firms such as Mastercard is unsurprising.”
At the time of reporting, Bitcoin had settled at around $30,334.
The price of cryptocurrency Ether has also risen since the start of the year, jumping 45 per cent. Its price has swung over the past five days but it is now broadly level to its value on Thursday.
