Bitcoin rallies, tops US$70,000 as risk assets stabilize
BNN Bloomberg
Bitcoin climbed back above US$70,000 on Friday, after sinking to a 16‑month low earlier, lifted by a sharp rebound in technology shares and precious metals following a global rout that had hammered a broad swathe of risk assets.
The world’s largest cryptocurrency was last up more than 11 per cent at US$70,231 BTC=, rising as high as US$71,464.96 and recouping losses that pushed it to US$60,017.60, the lowest level since Oct. 24, earlier on. Bitcoin posted its largest one-day gain since March 2023, but was down roughly eight per cent this week.
“It feels like a day of consolidation for risk assets that have been under pressure this week,” said Shaun Osborne, chief currency strategist at Scotiabank in Toronto.
The digital currency market has struggled for months since a record crash last October sent bitcoin tumbling from an all-time peak and investor sentiment toward these assets has cooled.
Friday’s low was its weakest level since early October 2024. That was just before bitcoin’s rally accelerated as Donald Trump closed in on winning the U.S. presidential election, having signaled his intention to support crypto on the campaign trail.
Market participants, however, were leery about Friday’s recovery.
Israel killed another top Iranian official -- the intelligence minister -- in its campaign against the Islamic Republic’s leadership, and an Iranian offshore natural gas field was struck Wednesday amid the war’s escalating pressure on the region’s economic lifeblood: energy.
Canadian and U.S. stock markets fell on Wednesday amid interest rate decisions from the Bank of Canada and the U.S. Federal Reserve, with both central banks acknowledging inflationary risks from the war in the Middle East.
Israel killed another top Iranian official -- the intelligence minister -- in its campaign against the Islamic Republic’s leadership, and an Iranian offshore natural gas field was struck Wednesday amid the war’s escalating pressure on the region’s economic lifeblood: energy.
Bank of Canada holds rate at 2.25 per cent as growth weakens and oil-driven inflation risks rise amid geopolitical uncertainty.
U.S. stocks are sinking Wednesday after a discouraging report said inflation was primed to worsen, even before the war with Iran sent oil prices spiking.
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Two Canadian cargo ships are stuck in the Persian Gulf and unable to pass through the blocked Strait of Hormuz as the war in Iran continues.
U.S. stocks are sinking Wednesday after another climb for oil prices raised worries about inflation, which may have been primed to worsen even before the war with Iran began.
U.S. crude stocks rose while gasoline and distillate inventories fell last week, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.
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A key question hangs over the Federal Reserve’s two-day meeting that ends Wednesday: Will central bank policymakers still reduce short-term interest rates this year, now that the Iran war has sent oil prices higher and gas prices spiking? Or will they have to stand pat for months to see how the conflict plays out?
Wall Street followed global markets higher Wednesday and the price of U.S. crude fell eased despite a new barrage of attacks by Iran on its Gulf neighbors.