Bitcoin hits $60,000 as rally gathers pace

LONDON: Bitcoin hit $60,000 on Wednesday for the first time in more than two years, as a flurry of capital into new US spot bitcoin exchange traded products fuelled a 42% price rally in February, which would mark its largest monthly gain since December 2020. Bitcoin was last up 6% at $60,131, its highest since November 2021, when it hit a record just below $70,000. Bitcoin was also heading for its largest week-on-week gain in a year, up 18.5% since February 21. Traders have poured into bitcoin ahead of April’s halving event – a process designed to slow the release of the cryptocurrency. In addition, the prospect of the Federal Reserve delivering a series of rate cuts this year has fed investor appetite for higher-yielding or more volatile assets. “Bitcoin is being driven by the support of consistent inflows into the new spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and outlook for April’s halving event and June’s Fed interest rate cuts,” Ben Laidler, global markets strategist at retail investment platform eToro, said.