Bitcoin surged over 5% in Wednesday morning trading in Asia to breach the US$28,000 resistance level, leading a rally of the top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies except XRP. Bitcoin’s jump followed the Tuesday evening launch of EDX Markets, a cryptocurrency exchange backed by major Wall Street players such as Citadel Securities, Fidelity and Charles Schwab. Meanwhile, the U.S. equity futures edged lower as investors waited for the Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s Wednesday testimony to Congress, with economic data on Tuesday pointing to a recovery in the U.S. housing market.
Bitcoin leads crypto rally
Bitcoin jumped 5.65% over the last 24 hours to US$28,285 at 07:30 a.m. in Hong Kong, moving up 9.36% for the past seven days, according to data from CoinMarketCap. The world’s largest cryptocurrency breached the US$28,000 mark early Wednesday for the first time since May 30.
Ether also gained 2.94% to US$1,788 and added 3% for the week. Most top 10 non-stablecoin tokens traded higher in the past 24 hours as Bitcoin spearheaded the rally, with the exception of XRP, which dipped 0.34% over the same period.
EDX Markets, a New Jersey-based crypto exchange, officially launched on Tuesday. Its investors include Fidelity Investment, an asset manager overseeing more than US$4 trillion in assets, and will offer Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum and Litecoin trading services.
The launch of EDX Markets echoes BlackRock’s Bitcoin exchange-traded fund filing last week, which indicates institutional interest in cryptocurrencies despite the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s crackdown on the industry.
The SEC’s probability of approving the Blackrock Bitcoin ETF is high,” said Markus Thielen, head of crypto research at digital asset service platform Matrixport, in an email. “The ETF might be approved by September/October 2023 and will attract US$10 billion within three months and US$20 billion within six months — materially supporting Bitcoin prices.”
Adding to the signals of institutional adoption, German investment bank Deutsche Bank has reportedly applied for a license from German regulators to offer custody services for digital assets including cryptocurrencies, according to Bloomberg on Tuesday.
On the regulatory front, the U.K.’s Financial Services and Markets Bill, which proposes cryptocurrency regulation in the country, was approved by the Parliament’s upper house on Sunday, signaling that the bill is now in its final stage before being enacted into law.
“[The bill] could essentially recognize cryptocurrencies as a regulated activity and stablecoins as a means of payment,” said investment fund Ark36 Chief Executive Officer Anto Paroian in an email. “If the bill is accepted and put into law, this could propel the cryptocurrency industry as a whole into a more mature and respected position within the global financial landscape while putting Britain on the map as a potential global hub for crypto.”
The total cryptocurrency market cap rose 3.70% to US$1.11 trillion in the last 24 hours, while crypto trading volume rose 47.78% to US$38.63 billion, according to CoinMarketCap data.