Bitcoin Cracks $9,400 to Reach Nearly 3-Month High in ‘Asia-Driven Rally’

Bitcoin (BTC) has risen above a key area of resistance to reach its highest point in nearly three months.

On Jan. 28, at roughly 23:30 UTC the price of BTC rose from around $9,150 to $9,400 in less than five minutes to reach an 83-day high, CoinDesk’s BPI shows.

Prices on the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization continues to gain amid the backdrop of uncertainty in the global markets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average cemented a 1.6 percent loss on Jan. 28 while the S&P 500 index also saw a sharp decline, down 1.5 percent.

Both indices are posting modest gains in after-hours trading as they attempt to correct yesterday’s selloff. However, with uncertainty stemming from the Coronavirus outbreak in China, investors could be looking elsewhere to park their funds according to Su Zhu, co-founder of Singapore-based crypto investment firm Three Arrows.

“[BTC] rally looks Asia-driven with the Chinese equity market reopening after holidays has been delayed due to the coronavirus, so traders itching for activity may have set their sights on the 24-7 crypto markets in the meantime,” Zhu said.

Jehan Chu, co-founder and managing partner at Hong Kong-based blockchain investment and trading firm Kenetic, said given the extremely highly volatile macro environment, bitcoin suddenly doesn’t seem so risky anymore.

“The recent surge in bitcoin price is merely a prelude to a much larger move upwards that has been building up over the past several months,” said Chu. “A steady wave of shocks including Iran turmoil, U.S. political strife, and now coronavirus destabilizing the public markets is pushing investors to seek alternative shelters for capital.”

Elsewhere in the market, the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization are posting positive gains, with the likes of Cardano (ADA) up 8.6 percent, bitcoin cash (BCH) up 4.6 percent, ether (ETH) up 2.15 percent, and XRP is up 1.94 percent over a 24-hour period.