Bitcoin surges toward $40,000 level, extending recent recovery

Hong Kong: Bitcoin surged on Monday in Asia to nearly $40,000, extending a recent recovery. The largest cryptocurrency rose as much as 15 per cent to $39,681 before paring some of the climb. It was at about $38,100 as of 9.13am in Hong Kong. The token climbed above its 50-day moving average over the weekend.

Bitcoin had looked to be in danger of further declines after it fell below $30,000 last week, a level widely flagged by strategists as potentially spurring further drops. But it got a boost when Elon Musk – at ‘The B Word’ conference last Wednesday – said he wants Bitcoin to succeed and that his space-exploration company SpaceX Inc. owns some. Star investor Cathie Wood said corporations should consider adding Bitcoin to their balance-sheets, while Square Inc. CEO Jack Dorsey said the coin is resilient.

Second-largest cryptocurrency Ether also surged, though by a more modest 8.4 per cent to a high of $2,339.