(Oct 19): On Monday, Bitcoin surged past US$82,000, recovering alongside risk assets as oil prices fell.
The leading cryptocurrency experienced a rise of up to 2.3% during early trading in Asia and was trading near US$82,400 by noon in Singapore. Other smaller cryptocurrencies also saw gains, with Ether increasing by as much as 3.7% and Solana climbing over 4.6%.
Cryptocurrencies have benefited from a cautious increase in investor confidence after oil prices dipped from a five-month peak due to signs of stable supplies from the Middle East amidst the ongoing U.S. conflict with Iran. Brent crude slipped by approximately 2%, while S&P 500 futures rose around 0.8% and Nasdaq 100 futures increased by 1.3%.
Improving market conditions have enabled Bitcoin to recover from a downward trend last week, during which it fell nearly 3% in sync with a stock market selloff primarily driven by technology stocks amid renewed skepticism about large investments in artificial intelligence.
Today’s upward movement is seen as a “retracement following a significant risk-off week,” according to Damien Loh, chief investment officer at Ericsenz Capital.
“No news tends to be positive news,” he remarked. “I don’t foresee any immediate catalysts for it to surpass previous highs, and I believe the current risk leans towards the downside given the overall risk landscape.”
Oil prices remain high, approximately US$107 per barrel, surpassing the levels observed for most of last week.
Moreover, institutional interest in Bitcoin has decreased for two consecutive weeks. U.S.-listed spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds experienced outflows of US$228.6 million (approximately RM933.3 million) last week, following outflows of US$681 million the week before.
Currently, Bitcoin is trading within last week’s range of US$80,000 to US$85,000.
Reported by Chng Shear Lane