Bitcoin climbs on Monday, hitting highest level since mid-August

Crypto prices rallied on Monday, pushing bitcoin to its highest level in more than a month. Bitcoin rose 3% to $27,921. The cryptocurrency traded above the $28,000 mark for much of the day, putting bitcoin at its highest level since Aug. 17, according to data from Coin Metrics. Ether briefly traded above $1,700 before giving back its gains on Monday afternoon. The catalyst for bitcoin’s move was not immediately clear. There were several ether futures exchange-traded funds set to launch Monday, a possible positive sign for the crypto industry, which has been waiting to see whether the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will approve a true bitcoin ETF in the coming months. Bitcoin has risen for four-straight weeks and is now up about 70% for the year. However, the digital currency is still more than 50% below its all-time highs. Even with the recent rally, trading volumes for bitcoin have been light, according to Citi strategist David Glass. “Though the global crypto market cap has risen ~30% YTD, BTC volumes are struggling to sustain higher levels. Volumes (spot plus futures) have been trending lower since March, and currently sit ~57% below 2022 averages. … Separately, this year’s crypto rally has also seen a rise in Bitcoin dominance — defined as Bitcoin’s share of total crypto market cap — which has stabilized around 50%,” Glass said in a note to clients Friday. Equities tied to crypto were also moving higher, with Riot Platforms and Marathon Digital each jumping more than 7% in premarket trading.