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Bitcoin tops 124k to hit new peak as Fed easing hopes lift sentiment
The world's largest crypto-asset by market capitalisation rose as much as 1.27 per cent to $124,514.57 on Thursday, in Asia trading. It pared some gains to trade 0.6 per cent higher at $123,690 as of 8:30 AM IST. Bitcoin's market cap rose to around $2.5 trillion, according to CoinGecko.
So far this year, bitcoin has risen by around 32 per cent, and since US President Donald Trump's election win in November, the cryptocurrency has risen nearly 80 per cent.
The rally in the cryptocurrency came just after the equity benchmarks on Wall Street closed at record levels for the second straight session. The S&P500 and Nasdaq closed 0.32 per cent and 0.14 per cent higher, respectively.
The risk-on sentiment among traders was boosted by the increasing expectations of Fed rate cuts after the latest inflation report, as per reports. The US core CPI, which excludes food and energy costs, climbed 0.3 per cent in July, the fastest pace since the start of the year, driven mainly by higher services prices. Further, on Wednesday, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urged the Federal Reserve to cut half-point interest in the September meeting, amid reports that Trump might select a new Fed Chair sooner than expected.
The bullish momentum for all cryptocurrencies gained traction after Trump signed an executive order last week to expand 401(k) (employer-sponsored retirement savings plan) access to alternative assets, aiming to improve returns and diversification, increasingly favourable regulatory environment.
By directing regulators to clarify investment guidelines, the order is poised to unlock the massive $8.9 trillion retirement savings market to cryptocurrencies, a development that analysts believe is fueling fresh optimism and institutional interest in the crypto space.
Altcoins soar
Meanwhile, Ethereum (ETH), the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, is also exhibiting bullish momentum by surging to a fresh record high of $4,785.67 on Thursday. Last seen, Ethereum was trading 0.63 per cent higher at $4,748.99, with a trading volume of $58 billion. The altcoin had a market cap of over $573 billion.
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