Bitcoin rose as far as 12.5 per cent to hit US$39,850, its
highest since mid-June during the Asia session, while ether hit a three-week
peak of US$2,344. On the heels of bitcoin's best week in almost three months,
the move put the squeeze on short sellers.
Last week, cryptocurrency enthusiast and Tesla boss Elon
Musk said the carmarker would likely resume accepting bitcoin once it conducts
due diligence on its energy use. It had suspended such payments in May,
contributing to a sharp crypto selloff.
Twitter boss Jack Dorsey also said last week that the
digital currency is a "big part" of the social media firm's future
and, on Sunday, London's City AM newspaper reported - citing an un-named
"insider" - that Amazon is looking to accept bitcoin payments by year's
end.
Brokers said that taken together the remarks were enough to
finally lift the market from the floor of support where it has held steady
since a May plunge, while data also pointed to heavy short-seller liquidations
- suggesting many might have given up.
"Over the last five trading sessions we've seen general
near-term bullishness in the market, driven by key technicals, as well as
recent positive comments," said Ryan Rabaglia, global head of trading at
digital asset platform OSL.
"With a record US$1.2 billion in shorts liquidated over
the past 24 hours, the outlook and momentum for the week ahead is
positive," he said.
Bitcoin was last up 8 per cent at US$38,064, putting it
within sight of resistance around June's US$41,341.57 peak just a week after it
was testing support at US$29,500.
Ether was last up 5 per cent at US$2,304. -Reuters
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