Bitcoin jumps 10% in rebound from last week’s brutal selloff
Rally follows Friday’s rout of cryptocurrency
SINGAPORE: Bitcoin extended its recovery in holidaythinned trading on Tuesday, rising 10 percent to be up more than a third from last week’s lows of below $12,000.
Bitcoin, the world’s biggest and best-known cryptocurrency, fell nearly 30 percent at one stage on Friday to $11,159.93 and, despite a late recovery, had its worst week since 2013.
The digital currency had risen around twentyfold since the start of the year, climbing from less than $1,000 to as high as $19,666 on Dec. 17 on Bitstamp and to more than $20,000 on other exchanges.
But it has posted heavy declines since.
While bitcoin investors and analysts believe the decline in its value was a natural correction after a heady run-up in prices, there have been further warnings from market regulators and central banks.
“There is no right current price which would reflect the right current valuation,” said Andrei Popescu, Singaporebased co-founder of COSS, which describes itself as a platform that encompasses all features of a digital economy based on cryptocurrency.
“Taking profit is right, while buying into a long-term projection is also right. You don’t have to be right in this market, just less wrong than the rest,” Popescu said.
Singapore’s central bank last week issued a warning against investment in cryptocurrencies, saying it considers the recent surge in their prices to be driven by speculation and that the risk of a sharp fall in prices is high.
Prices of rival cryptocurrencies, which slid along with bitcoin last week, have also recovered, with Ethereum, the second-biggest cryptocurrency by market size, quoted around $771, up from Sunday’s low of $689 but still far from highs around $900 hit last week.