Bitcoin nears record high in latest sign it may be – Business News
Bitcoin rallied about 1.6% Friday, coming close to setting a new record regardless of widespread financial uncertainty.
The cryptocurrency traded at over $122,000 – just under the all-time high of about $124,000 that it notched in August.
The rally is a signal that traders may be viewing Bitcoin as one other safe-haven asset, like gold, because the US authorities shutdown continues.
The cryptocurrency traded at over $122,000 on Friday. REUTERS
Spot gold jumped 0.5% early Friday to $3,876.55 per ounce. Prices have gained more than 2% this week – and gold futures have soared over 46% to this point this 12 months.
“That correlation with gold has picked up. Bitcoin is often thought of as digital gold because of its limited supply,” Alex Saunders, Citi’s head of quant macro analysis, instructed CNBC’s “Closing Bell Overtime” on Thursday.
Meanwhile, consultants and pols are lamenting the opposed results of the shutdown, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warning Thursday of potential hurt to financial growth.
“The shutdown matters this time around,” Standard Chartered’s Geoff Kendrick wrote in a word Friday.
Meanwhile, funding impasses in Washington, DC, prompted the primary authorities shutdown since 2018. Xinhua/Shutterstock
“During the previous Trump shutdown… Bitcoin was in a different place than now, so it did little,” he added. “However, this year bitcoin has traded with ‘US government risks’ as best shown by its relationship to US Treasury term premium.”
Standard Chartered expects Bitcoin to hit a new high quickly, finally reaching $135,000.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 310 factors, or 0.7%, whereas the S&P 500 ticked up 0.1% on Friday.
