Bitcoin back above $18,000 for the first time since FTX crashed

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Bitcoin price is back above $18,000 for the first time since crypto exchange FTX exploded.

At the time of writing, data from CoinGecko showed the largest cryptocurrency trading for $18,115, a nearly 2% 24-hour increase. That’s up 6% in the last seven days.

The last time Bitcoin traded so far was on November 8, the day the FTX bombshell dropped. Since then, it has mostly been hovering between $16,000 and $17,000. In early November, things were looking up for the asset, trading above $21,000 and trending higher. Then things took a turn.b

FTX, once one of the largest digital asset exchanges on the planet, went bankrupt last month, taking major crypto companies like BlockFi and crypto prices with it.

Following news of its collapse, investors rushed to get their hands on volatile assets, wreaking havoc in what was already a very volatile market this year.

Bitcoin hit a two-year low after the news broke, and the market has been slow to recover as the contagion spreads to companies like Genesis, a crypto lender owned by crypto giant Digital Currency Group.

And although it is making a comeback today, Bitcoin is still suffering from this year’s brutal bear market: in November last year, it was worth more than 73% more than it is now when it received $69,044.

Ethereum, the second-largest digital asset, is also up today: data from CoinGecko shows it is trading for $1,335, up 5% over the past week.

However, other cryptocurrencies are not doing very well. Dogecoin, the ninth-largest digital asset by market cap, was down more than 9% last week, priced at $0.09.

Bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies have largely trailed US equities this year as they are considered riskier assets. When the Federal Reserve raised interest rates to rein in inflation, investors typically sold off US stocks, along with Bitcoin and other digital assets.

And today is no different: The S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 are up today on hopes the Fed will likely announce it is easing the pace of interest rate hikes at a meeting. later in the day.

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