Bitcoin‘s price crossed into five figures on Sunday to hit its highest level in nearly two months. However, it still lags Ethereum’s ether token, which recently traded at 13-month highs.
- Bitcoin rose to $10,135 at 10:05 UTC – a level last seen on June 2.
- The biggest cryptocurrency by market value is trading near $9,970 at press time, representing a 4% gain on a 24-hour basis and 8% gains on a week-to-date basis.
- "The DeFi-led surge in Ethereum’s ether token, the second-largest cryptocurrency, seems to have spilled over into the bitcoin market," said John Ng Pangilinan, managing partner at Singapore-based Signum Capital.
- Ether’s price rose to a 13-month high of $319 early Friday and is currently trading at $310 – up over 9% on a 24-hour basis and 30% this week alone.
- The token, which powers Ethereum’s blockchain, has gained 140% this year, leaving bitcoin, up 40% on a year-to-date basis, far behind.
- Bitcoin is outshining gold, which has appreciated by 25% this year.
- However, gold is trading close to its record high of $1,920 reached in 2011, while bitcoin is still down 50% from its lifetime high of $20,000 hit in December 2017.
- The U.S. Federal Reserve's massive liquidity injections and the negative yield on the inflation-adjusted US bonds look to have powered gains in gold, an inflation-hedge.
- Bitcoin, however, struggled to draw hedging bids over the past two months and was locked in the narrow range of $9,000 to $10,000.
- Some investors expect bitcoin to chart stronger gains in the near future as the cryptocurrency has breached a bearish trendline falling from December 2017 and June 2019 highs.
