Bitcoin today broke above $25,000 for the first time since June last year.
It has since dropped slightly: right now, the largest cryptocurrency by market cap is trading hands for $24,914, according to CoinGecko data. That’s a 9.2% 24-hour jump.
The asset took the rest of the market with it—seemingly unfazed by a U.S. regulatory crackdown. The total market capitalization for all crypto assets has jumped by roughly $100 billion over the last day.
Ethereum, the second largest digital asset, is up 8.4% in the past day, priced in at $1,717. Dogecoin, the 10th biggest, jumped 4.6% and is now valued at $0.09.
But why is this happening? It’s hard to say but experts who spoke with Decrypt said the regulatory crackdown might actually be playing a part.
Last week, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission hit American crypto exchange Kraken with a $30 million fine, and reports emerged this week that the regulator was also preparing to sue stablecoin provider Paxos.
Meanwhile, the world’s biggest digital asset exchange Binance said yesterday it would likely pay fines to settle SEC investigations.
White Lion Capital CIO John Nance told Decrypt that although it was hard to be certain, with “crypto getting attacked from all angles,” investors may be selling alt-coins and increasing Bitcoin holdings because it is “becoming more clear that the safest place in crypto is pure BTC.”
CoinShares Head of Research James Butterfill added that Hong Kong’s plans to become an Asian crypto hub might be contributing to the price rise as Asian investors plug money into the space.
Bitcoin is still well below its November 2021 all-time high of $69,044—63% lower. The cryptocurrency has typically been correlated with the U.S. stock market as investors have lumped it into the “risk-on” asset class.
As the U.S. Federal Reserve has continually raised interest rates to get sky-high inflation under control, the cryptocurrency market—and tech stocks—have experienced a brutal sell-off. Sentiment on this front may be beginning to shift, however, as the Fed eases off from its aggressive posture.