Bitcoin holds near record, Ether surges amid crypto rally

Singapore

BITCOIN held near a record a day after breaching US$34,000 for the first time, while Ether, another digital currency, also surged as the crypto rally continues.

Ether climbed as much as 22 per cent to about US$1,163 following a 30 per cent advance on Sunday. Bitcoin held onto most of its weekend gains, dipping about 1.6 per cent to US$33,060 as of 6:53 am on Monday in London, according to a composite of prices compiled by Bloomberg.

"What we're seeing is the standard moving of the crypto markets from Bitcoin to the Altcoin market led by Ether," said Vijay Ayyar, head of business development with crypto exchange Luno in Singapore.

"This rotation happens usually when Bitcoin has a large rally and investors rotate profits" into other digital coins, he said.

Bitcoin eclipsed its 2017 high late last year and only hit US$20,000 for the first time in the middle of December. Proponents of the world's largest cryptocurrency argue that it's muscling in on gold as a hedge against US dollar weakness and inflation risk, citing evidence of growing interest among institutional investors.

GET BT IN YOUR INBOX DAILY

Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.

Sign UpVIEW ALL

Sceptics view the digital asset's more than 300 per cent surge over the past year as a risky bubble fuelled by investors chasing the momentum in crypto prices.

"The drivers of the crypto rally, if anything, are strengthening amid still low interest rates, political uncertainty" and the prospect of more government stimulus, Julian Emanuel, chief equity and derivatives strategist at BTIG LLC, said in an e-mail.

But volatility can work both to the upside "as well as to the downside", he added. BLOOMBERG