Bitcoin has rebounded following the collapse of crypto exchange FTX last November, rising over 42%.
In the weeks leading up to and after the fall, Bitcoin dipped below the $16,000 level, according to Dow Jones Market Data Group.
By Monday at 5 p.m., bitcoin notched its highest mark in almost two months when it reached $28,933.51. The digital currency has been up five of the last six days and over 68% higher since January, but remains well off its all-time high of $67,802.30 in late 2021.
Meanwhile, the criminal trial of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried began on Tuesday. The former FTX CEO faces seven federal charges of fraud and conspiracy related to the collapse of the crypto exchange and is facing a potential 110 years in jail if found guilty on all charges.
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried arrives at Manhattan Federal Court on March 30, 2023, in New York City. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
Since the collapse, Bitcoin jumped above the $30,000 plateau in April and the $31,000 hurdle just two months later helped by a new exchange backed by Fidelity and Charles Schwab. EDX Markets, the first-of-its-kind digital asset marketplace, is also backed by Citadel Securities, Sequoia Capital and Virtu Financial. It launched on June 20.
Sam Bankman-Fried leaves court in New York, on July 26, 2023. (Yuki Iwamura/Bloomberg via / Getty Images)
Over the summer, noted companies like Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest and BlackRock, with $9 trillion in assets, applied with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a spot bitcoin ETF, although the U.S. regulator has yet to approve a pure bitcoin ETF.
Grayscale has also been turned away by the SEC and is suing the Wall Street watchdog over the rebuttal, while Fidelity and the CBOE have also been shot down by regulators. Analysts at Bernstein said in a report this month that a Bitcoin ETF could open around $600 billion in new demand.
Meanwhile, Standard Chartered analysts in July said bitcoin could reach $50,000 this year and $120,000 by the end of 2024 as crypto miners begin stockpiling the digital asset in the wake of inflation.
The British bank previously forecasted bitcoin would reach the $100,000 mark by the end of next year, but now Standard Chartered analyst Geoff Kendrick said there is a 20% "upside" to the original prediction.
FOX Business' Suzanne O'Halloran contributed to this report.