Bitcoin rose Wednesday as investors shrugged off fears about U.S. regulators’ crackdown on industry giants. According to Coin Metrics, the world’s largest cryptocurrency rose 3.9% to $28,399.63. After falling below $28,000 on Monday, Bitcoin has recovered after the announcement of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission FTC’s lawsuit against Binance. Earlier in the day, it reached a high of $28,637.25. Ether, the second-biggest digital coin, rose 1.7% to $1,808.29. Bitcoin has steadily risen this year after a brutal 2022 in which major crypto exchanges collapsed and prices fell sharply. Investors have taken some comfort in the thought of a reversal in the U.S. Federal Reserve’s interest rate hike moves. This has pressured risk assets like stocks.
It was not immediately clear why the jump occurred on Wednesday. Nevertheless, it comes amid a broad rise in the stock market. Bitcoin follows equity markets, with investors treating it like a traditional risk asset. U.S. regulators have recently sharpened their crackdown on crypto firms, with the CFTC suing Binance and its co-founder Changpeng Zhao for allegedly breaking trading rules by courting clients in the U.S. without authorization. The Securities and Exchange Commission has also threatened to sue Coinbase for alleged violations of securities rules.