The brand for bitcoin is seen on a screen in Hong Kong, China, on May 24, 2023.
Paul Yeung | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Crypto prices rallied on Monday, pushing bitcoin to its highest level in greater than a month.
Bitcoin rose 3.5% to $28,065 and its highest level since Aug. 17, in accordance with data from Coin Metrics. Ether rose lower than 1% and briefly traded above $1,700.
Bitcoin rose above $28,000 on Monday.
The catalyst for bitcoin’s move was not immediately clear. There have been several ether futures exchange-traded funds set to launch Monday, a possible positive sign for the crypto industry, which has been waiting to see whether the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will approve a real bitcoin ETF in the approaching months.
Bitcoin has risen for four-straight weeks and is now up about 70% for the 12 months. Nevertheless, the digital currency remains to be greater than 50% below its all-time highs.
Even with the recent rally, trading volumes for bitcoin have been light, in accordance with Citi strategist David Glass.
“Though the worldwide crypto market cap has risen ~30% YTD, BTC volumes are struggling to sustain higher levels. Volumes (spot plus futures) have been trending lower since March, and currently sit ~57% below 2022 averages. … Individually, this 12 months’s crypto rally has also seen an increase in Bitcoin dominance — defined as Bitcoin’s share of total crypto market cap — which has stabilized around 50%,” Glass said in a note to clients Friday.
Equities tied to crypto were also moving higher, with Riot Platforms and Marathon Digital each jumping greater than 7% in premarket trading.
— CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed reporting.
