Bitcoin has gained more than 20 per cent in value over the past seven days, despite a slump last Tuesday which dragged it below $30,000. Reuters
Bitcoin has gained more than 20 per cent in value over the past seven days, despite a slump last Tuesday which dragged it below $30,000. Reuters
Bitcoin has gained more than 20 per cent in value over the past seven days, despite a slump last Tuesday which dragged it below $30,000. Reuters
Bitcoin has gained more than 20 per cent in value over the past seven days, despite a slump last Tuesday which dragged it below $30,000. Reuters

Bitcoin surges towards $40,000 mark on Amazon rumours


Michael Fahy
  • English
  • Arabic

Bitcoin gained more than 13 per cent in value on Monday morning as it led a rebound in cryptocurrency valuations from their recent slump.

The world's biggest cryptocurrency rose to $39,179.82 on the Luxembourg-based Bitstamp exchange by 10.30am UAE time, which is partly a natural correction given the recent slump.

It is also a response to an unconfirmed report by London-based newspaper City AM that Amazon is preparing to accept Bitcoin as a method of payment, as well as working on its own token concept. Amazon did not immediately respond to a request to comment.

"Over the past two to three months, we have seen Bitcoin pull back after a historic rally to $64,000. This is quite normal with any meteoric rise in an asset's price," said Vijay Ayyar, head of business development at cryptocurrency company Luno.

"While we had a 50 per cent correction as the first leg of a corrective rally, we are potentially now seeing the immediate bounce that could take Bitcoin beyond $40,000, to around $45,000 to $48,000," he said.

The revival in Bitcoin's price pushed its market capitalisation back up to just below $796 billion and means the cryptocurrency has increased in value by more than 32 per cent since falling to $29,539 during last Tuesday's slump.

Other cryptocurrencies also rebounded in value on Monday, with Ether trading more than 10 per cent higher at $2,385.60 and XRP up 11 per cent to $0.675.

Traders in cryptocurrencies also appear to be less worried about the threat of regulation, at least in the US, according to Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at broker Avatrade.

A number of asset managers have been waiting for the Securities and Exchange Commission to approve their applications to create a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund but the regulator has yet to give the green light to any.

A Bitcoin Trust operated by Grayscale currently has more than $21bn of assets under management, but it charges investors annual fees of 2 per cent.

"It seems more possible today that the SEC will pass the Bitcoin ETF – whenever that will happen," Mr Aslam said. "In terms of Bitcoin's price action, we are more focused on the $45,000 level and once the price is above that, we are very likely to see some more bullish bets coming into the market."

A Bitcoin ETF run by Canadian digital asset manager 3iQ already trades on the Toronto stock exchange and recently secured a secondary listing on Nasdaq Dubai.

The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting

2. Prayer

3. Hajj

4. Shahada

5. Zakat 

What can victims do?

Always use only regulated platforms

Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion

Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)

Report to local authorities

Warn others to prevent further harm

Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence

Updated: July 27, 2021, 6:08 AM`