Bitcoin prices broke through their highest levels since May 2018 on Monday, nearing the $9,000 price level, and soaring over 9 percent in a 24-hour period. The cryptocurrency hit a high of $8,937.25 according to Coindesk, and though it’s up more than 140 percent since January, bitcoin is still down from its all-time high hit in 2017, when it passed the $19,000 mark.
The jump in bitcoin prices came in part from a recent increase in large companies releasing crypto-related products. HTC is one such company that has already released a phone that helps people store cryptocurrency. It is rumored that Facebook is also working on its own cryptocurrency.
Bitcoin’s break above the short-term resistance at $8,300 could signal a bullish momentum, fueling renewed interest and sparking the buying pattern that pushed bitcoin higher on Monday. On the fundamental front, it could be that traders tired of following the U.S.-Sino trade war are looking for alternative investments as they wait for the volatility to subside.
In the same vein, gold prices rose on Monday as traders sought safe-haven assets. The precious metal was up 0.19 percent as of 2:04 p.m. HK/SIN, to trade at $1,295.90. The trade war has been recently aggravated as the U.S. diverted its focus from trade issues to security issues, placing sanctions on Chinese technology companies such as Huawei for alleged security breaches. On Friday, China denounced U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for creating rumors about Huawei and lying about the company’s connection to the Chinese government.
Also sending traders towards safe-haven assets was weak data at the end of last week which increased the expectation for an interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve. Asian stock markets were trading mixed on Monday afternoon. Chinese benchmarks were broadly higher, with the Shenzhen Composite surging 2.22 percent and the Shanghai Composite up 1.21 percent. Japan’s Nikkei gained 0.34 percent while South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.19 percent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped 0.15 percent. U.S. stock markets are closed on Monday for Memorial Day.