On conjecture, the most popular cryptocurrency increases by up to 15% to near $40,000.
Bitcoin climbed to nearly $40,000 on Monday, a rally that some ascribed to traders unwinding bearish bets and persistent speculation about Amazon's future involvement in the cryptocurrency market.
The largest cryptocurrency climbed as high as 15% to $39,681 before settling at at $38,100. Other virtual currencies, such as the second-placed Ether, have also risen in value.
“Over-leveraged shorts undoubtedly drove the size of the jump,” said Vijay Ayyar, Asia Pacific head of crypto exchange Luno in Singapore, adding that Amazon speculations likely played a role as well.
Amazon posted a job opening for a digital currency product lead last week, igniting suspicion that it may accept digital coins as payment. Elon Musk and Cathie Wood of Ark Investment Management have both shown their support for Bitcoin recently. The coin's price is above its 50-day moving average over the weekend, which some see as a good sign.
According to data from Bybt.com, more than $700 million in Bitcoin shorts were liquidated on Monday, the biggest in at least three months.
Bitcoin futures activity soared Monday as prices rose sharply. In a 10-minute trading session, over 1,000 contracts changed hands. As a result, volumes in the July front contract were roughly ten times higher than usual.
Bitcoin is still trading at around $27,000 below its mid-April peak of around $65,000. Criticism of the amount of energy used by the computer servers that support it, a regulatory crackdown in China, and more official scrutiny in Europe and the United States have all affected it.
Mr. Musk, the CEO of Tesla Inc., which already owns Bitcoin, revealed last week at a conference that his space exploration business, SpaceX, does as well. He went on to say that he hopes the token succeeds and that he has purchased Bitcoin, Ether, and Dogecoin personally.
Companies should consider including Bitcoin on their balance sheets, according to Wood of Ark.
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