Bitcoin rises 6%, nearing $70,000 at the start of the week

Bitcoin skyrocketed at the beginning of the last week of March, regaining the $69,000 level.

The price of the flagship cryptocurrency was last up about 6% to $69,778.60, according to Coin Metrics. Ether rose 5% to $3,575.01. Most other cryptocurrencies also rode the Bitcoin wave.

MicroStrategy, which trades on behalf of Bitcoin prices, soared 17%, while Coinbase rose 9%. The mining sector also benefited from Bitcoin, with Marathon Digital and Riot Platforms up 2% and 6%, respectively. CleanSpark rose 16% and Cipher Mining rose 12%.

Bitcoin has been in correction mode for the past week since hitting an all-time high of $73,797.68 on March 14, before falling to around $60,800 last Wednesday. Alex Thorne, head of corporate research at Galaxy Digital, said the decline is “well within the norm for short-term corrections in historic bull markets.”

Although the reason for Monday's large rally is unclear, the crypto price trend in March has been characterized by new highs followed by healthy declines. Thorne suggested that investors are pausing the sale of Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) shares.

“The record outflows from GBTC over the past two weeks, likely due to the bankruptcy proceedings of Genesis and Gemini, contributed to the decline in spot prices, but several technical indicators point to seller fatigue,” Thorne said. said.

Sam Callahan, principal analyst at Bitcoin services firm Swan Bitcoin, said this is likely related to the message the Federal Reserve issued last week.

“Fed officials made clear last week that they are considering both lowering rates and tapering the pace of this year's quantitative tightening program,” he said. “These actions will strengthen liquidity conditions and act as a positive catalyst for asset prices. They responded positively to the message.”

Despite the pullback, Bitcoin is on track to end March on a strong note. It's up 12% for the month and 64% so far in the first quarter.