Closing summary
Bitcoin has jumped through $60,000, rising 7.5% today, as the cryptocurrency stages its biggest monthly rally since late 2020.
The surge to $60,900 means it is pushing closer to its all-time high of more than $68,000 in November 2021 – which was followed by a spectacular crash in 2022.
The world’s best-known cryptocurrency has been buoyed by flows into new US spot bitcoin exchange traded products (ETFs that track the value of the cryptocurrency), which have driven its price up by around 40% in February.
Our other main stories today:
Thames Water has been lobbying the government and regulators to let it increase bills by 40%, pay lower fines for breaches and keep paying out dividends as part of efforts to avert a taxpayer bailout, according to a report.
The UK’s largest water company was trying to strike a deal with the watchdog Ofwat that would give it permission to charge customers more to avoid having to be taken over by court-appointed special administrators, the Financial Times reported.
Thank you for reading. We’ll be back tomorrow. Take care! – JK
Bitcoin surges through $60,000
Bitcoin has gone through $60,000, rising 6.2% today, as the cryptocurrency stages its biggest monthly rally since late 2020.
The world’s best-known cryptocurrency has been buoyed by flows into new US spot bitcoin exchange traded products (ETFs that track the value of the cryptocurrency), which have driven its price up by around 40% in February.
Traders have piled into bitcoin ahead of April’s halving event, a process designed to slow the release of the cryptocurrency.
Our financial editor Nils Pratley wrote last month:
Cue a fresh whoosh of demand, we are told, from US institutions and private punters who will be able to hitch themselves to the bitcoin wagon without having to go to the bother of opening a digital wallet or dealing with a crypto trading platform. The word “watershed” has been used widely to describe the moment. Giant investment names such as BlackRock will be offering these new ETFs. Ease of access and mainstream respectability have arrived as a package.
Updated
