The price of bitcoin climbed back above $40,000 on Wednesday morning, a week after its price tumbles 30% to around $30,000. According to Coin Metrics data, the world’s most popular cryptocurrency was trading at $40,344.50 at 5:24 a.m. ET (11:24 a.m. South Africa) on Wednesday, up over 5% over the last 24 hours.
All the other major digital coins were also in the green Wednesday. Ethereum’s price has risen over 10% in the last 24 hours to $2,865.61, while Dogecoin’s price has climbed a little over 2% to 36 cents a coin. Last week’s crypto sell-off came after authorities in China and the U.S. moved to tighten regulation and tax compliance on cryptocurrencies.
Virtual currencies have swung wildly in recent days after billionaire Elon Musk criticized Bitcoin’s energy consumption and said Tesla Inc. was suspending payments using the token. Tough regulatory rhetoric on cryptocurrencies from China exacerbated the selloff, which saw leveraged investors unwind positions.
Chinese authorities called for tighter regulation on crypto mining and trading on Friday, reinforcing rules announced in 2017, and the U.S. Treasury announced Thursday that it would require stricter crypto compliance with the IRS. But the cryptocurrency market is trying to recover some of the losses this week after it plunged again on Sunday to almost $31,000.
Bitcoin’s latest price rise comes after Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on Monday he spoke to bitcoin miners in North America about renewable energy solutions. Elsewhere, hedge fund billionaire Ray Dalio said in an article published on Monday that he has some bitcoin.
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