Bitcoin Surges Past $41,000, Touching 18-Month High

Bitcoin soared past $41,000 Monday — briefly even topping $42,000 — for the first time in 18 months. It’s now shot up almost $15,000 in less than two months.

The largest cryptocurrency hasn't gotten this high since April 2022, before the TerraUSD Stablecoin collapsed and caused hundreds of billions in losses in the larger crypto market. Prices continued to fall after the November 2022 collapse of crypto exchange FTX, falling below $17,000.

Smaller tokens such as Ether, Binance Coin and Dogecoin— a favorite among meme stock enthusiasts — all saw gains Monday. Likewise, exchange operator Coinbase, Bitcoin investor Microstrategy and Bitcoin miners such as Marathon Digital and Riot Platforms saw their stocks rise.

The rally is a reflection of broader enthusiasm among investors encouraged that the Federal Reserve appears to be done with raising its benchmark interest rate, and may even reverse course next year. Cici Lu McCalman, founder of blockchain adviser Venn Link Partners, said Bitcoin could “run toward $50,000 before any major correction,” according to Bloomberg.

The SEC is also reportedly considering approving the first bitcoin exchange-traded fund, which would make crypto even more mainstream. As of June, there had been at least 30 attempts for a spot-Bitcoin product, according to Bloomberg, and in October, crypto asset manager Grayscale Investments won a related legal challenge.

“Bitcoin continues to be supported by optimism around SEC approval for an ETF and Fed rate cuts in 2024,” Tony Sycamore, a market analyst at IG Australia, wrote in an investor note, according to Bloomberg.

To be sure, the digital currency remains controversial. Binance — the world's largest crypto exchange — in October agreed to pay over $4.3 billion to settle criminal charges alleging it violated federal anti-money laundering laws.

The platform was also used to process payments to a series of terrorist organizations such as Hamas, Al Qaeda and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), according to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. People in sanctioned areas, including North Korea, Syria and Iran, also sent payments on Binance, according to federal authorities.