Bitcoin
and other cryptocurrencies rose Thursday amid a surge in the stock market after standout earnings from chip maker Nvidia, which has seen investor risk sentiment improve in a trend that could also benefit digital assets.
The price of Bitcoin has advanced 1.5% over the past 24 hours to above $51,900, having traded below the $51,000 point on Wednesday before Nvidia reported quarterly results. Bitcoin prices have doubled in six months, with a recent peak around $52,800 marking the highest levels since late 2021. hTe largest digital asset though has struggled to consolidate gains above $52,000 and has slipped lower in recent days.
“Bitcoin’s technical outlook has started to deteriorate slightly as the momentum decelerated,” said Yuya Hasegawa, an analyst at crypto exchange Bitbank. “A rally in the U.S. tech industry could complement Bitcoin.”
While multiple factors drove Bitcoin higher in recent months—including the approval of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and a looming change to the token’s programmatic monetary policy—the stock market also has helped.
Cryptos have shown themselves to be correlated with other risk-sensitive assets, namely equities, and improvements in investor appetite for risk tends to boost tokens. Stocks surged into the end of 2023 and have marched higher still this year—just like Bitcoin—with recent gains in equities defined by optimism over artificial intelligence and how demand for AI could boost tech stocks.
The latest catalyst on that front came late Wednesday with strong quarterly results and guidance from AI chipmaker
Nvidia,
which has sent that stock skyward and boosted equities more broadly. The
Dow Jones Industrial Average
and
S&P 500
were both set to rise on Thursday with the latter index in record-high territory. The upbeat mood appears to be seeping into cryptos and could spur further advances.
“Nvidia’s record-breaking revenue and bullish outlook for the future sales could be Bitcoin’s rescue boat in the short term,” said Hasegawa. “Bitcoin has already recovered the level around $52,000, but its consolidation could continue. A recovery in the U.S. equity market could lift up the price of Bitcoin within a current range, but $53,000 will likely be a tough resistance to break.”
Beyond Bitcoin,
Ether
—the second-largest crypto—jumped 4% to $3,020. Smaller tokens or altcoins also were higher, with
Cardano
and
Polygon
rising 3% each. Memecoins
Dogecoin
and
Shiba Inu
both rose 2%.
Write to Jack Denton at jack.denton@barrons.com
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