Bitcoin hits six-month high as investors warm to risk

LONDON (Reuters) – Bitcoin hit a six-month high on Thursday, rising along with stocks and other relatively risky assets as investors gained confidence in the economic outlook and dismissed concerns about a regulatory scrutiny of the sector.

The largest cryptocurrency The world hit $24,895 on Thursday, its highest since August 2022, after rising 9.5% on Wednesday. Most recently it was $24,400.

Bitcoin is up almost 50% so far this year, from around $16,500 where it suffered in early January from the collapse of major crypto exchange FTX and a sell-off in many assets caused by aggressive rate hikes by global central banks.

Aside from crypto-specific events like regulatory changes and the collapse of major industry players, major cryptocurrencies have traded in a manner similar to other assets deemed risky, especially during uncertain economic times like stocks.

Global stocks rose on Thursday, as economic data from around the world fueled hopes the economy could face a softer landing than feared a few months ago, even as interest rates threaten to stay higher for longer than expected. [MKTS/GLOB]

“Bitcoin shot above $24,000 for the first time in two weeks after gaining more than 8% in the past 24 hours. The asset has been down for the past few days amid growing concerns about crypto regulation and future moves by the Fed to tame the cryptocurrency inflation dropped below $21,600, but those concerns appeared to be fading quickly,” crypto investment platform Q9 Capital said in a note on Thursday.

On Monday, the Paxos Trust Company, the firm behind the stablecoin of leading exchange Binance, in the recent regulatory challenge for the crypto sector, that the US Securities and Exchange Commission has told the company that it should have registered the product as a security and is considering taking action against the platform.

(Reporting by Alun John; Editing by Barbara Lewis)