After spending the entirety of 2022 in the red, Bitcoin turned positive Monday as the cryptocurrency surged on an investor rally.
As of 11:30 a.m. ET, Bitcoin was trading as $47,648 — a 6% gain in 24 hours and the continuation of a gain that started over the weekend, once it broke past the psychological barrier of $45,000.
That jump erased the losses for 2022 – and year to date, the crypto currently is posting a 3.27% gain. That puts the most widely traded crypto well ahead of traditional investments. So far in 2022, the Dow and S&P 500 are both down more than 5% and the Nasdaq index is more than 10% lower.
In the past week, Bitcoin has seen gains of 16%.
Bitcoin’s YTD gains aren’t universal, though. Among the other major cryptocurrencies, only XRP is showing positive growth for 2022. Ethereum, Solana, Cardano and memecoins like Dogecoin and Shiba Inu are all still showing losses for the year.
Investors are showing increased interest in Bitcoin, though, for a variety of reasons. Goldman Sachs‘ decision to trade the crypto over the counter has sparked optimism, and Cowen also said it plans to let institutional investors spot bitcoin trades. Ongoing Bitcoin purchases from the network behind the Luna token are also driving up the price.
Inflation and the war in Ukraine could still negatively influence the digital currency in the days, weeks and months to come, though, warn analysts.
For Bitcoin bulls, though, Monday’s achievement brings a sigh of relief. Bitcoin has been largely in decline since last November, when it hit highs of over $67,500.
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