Bitcoin rises to highest since April 2022

Upward trend: A QR code is used to make a bitcoin payment in Chiltiupan, El Salvador. Bitcoin’s gains lift the shares of cryptocurrency-related companies in the United States and it has climbed above US$42,000. — Reuters

LONDON: Bitcoin rose on Monday, briefly surpassing US$42,000 to reach a 20-month high, in a new surge of momentum fuelled by US interest rate cut expectations and traders betting that American regulators will soon approve exchange traded spot bitcoin funds.

The world’s biggest cryptocurrency rose to US$42,162, its highest since April 2022, seemingly casting off the gloom that had settled over crypto markets following the collapse of FTX and other crypto-business failures last year.