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Bitcoin surged above $30,000 for the first time since June, hitting a 10-month high, as open interest on the CME exchange rose after a holiday weekend.
The biggest cryptocurrency rose 4% to $30,264 as of 3:13 p.m. in New York on Tuesday after jumping nearly as much on Monday, according to Messari.
The recent move appears to be caused by CME derivatives traders' bitcoin exposure after an Easter hiatus, according to crypto analytics provider K33 Research. "The increased activity on CME before and during yesterday's initial high towards $29,000 suggests that CME traders were behind the initial push higher." Binance traders "reluctantly" trailed above $30,000 in a possible short squeeze, analysts at the company wrote in a research report on Tuesday.
The token has weathered the recent wave of banking turmoil well, rising more than 44% since the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank on March 10.
Ether, the No. 2 cryptocurrency, advanced 1% to $1,906. Investors brace for potential selling pressure as Shanghai's (Shapella) upgrade to the Ethereum blockchain, which is expected to go live on Wednesday, will allow some participants to withdraw funds that have been frozen for months in part of the network's migration to proof-of-stake rather than proof-of-work validation technology.
Wednesday will also see the release of the U.S. core consumer price index and March 21-22 Federal Reserve meeting minutes, which could influence investors' outlook for developments. interest rates, potentially affecting crypto trading.
The crypto market capitalization rose 2.7% over 24 hours to $1.26 trillion. Among the leaders is Solana soil, up 14%. The rapid rise may indicate excitement over the release of Saga, an Android smartphone with special Solana blockchain integrations, slated for April 13.
Xrp, which has risen almost 40% over the past month, outperforming other cryptocurrencies, added a modest 1.08% and is now trading at 52 cents. According to an analysis by data provider Kaiko, the rally was mainly driven by retail investors. Traders can position themselves for a victory for Ripple, a company closely associated with the token, in its years-long legal battle against the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, which accuses it of selling xrp as an unregistered security.
Crypto stocks are also on the rise. Shares of miners Marathon Digital Holdings, Riot Platforms and Hut 8 Mining are up 28.8%, 33.7% and 17.3% respectively since Thursday's close.
Shares of leading bitcoin buyer MicroStrategy jumped 6% on Tuesday. The software vendor recently bought around 1,045 bitcoins for around $29.3 million, bringing its total to 140,000, bought at an average price of $29,803 per coin. As the leading cryptocurrency surged above $30,000, the company's $4 billion bitcoin stash returned to profitability.