Bitcoin (BTC) broke above the USD 40,000 mark again today, after being rejected at the same level over the weekend. The major breakthrough comes on a strong day for both BTC and the broader crypto market, with most coins now in the green for the past 24 hours.
At 16:43 UTC, BTC stood at USD 41,133, up 5% for the past 24 hours and up by almost 7% for the past 7 days. Ethereum (ETH) was trading at USD 2,825 and was up 2% in a day and 7% in a week.
The strong move for BTC comes as the US stock markets opened on Wall Street after the weekend, with the S&P 500 index down only slightly compared to its closing price on Friday. At press time, the important index traded at USD 4,378, down a mere 0.1% for the day.
The surge higher for bitcoin happened despite significant geopolitical tensions between the West and Russia over the war in Ukraine. Sanctions related to the war have already sent the Russian ruble fiat currency into a freefall against the US dollar, with some Russians now showing interest in bitcoin and USD-pegged stablecoins as a way to protect their savings.
“If Russian citizens widely understood that sanctions can be avoided by using bitcoin, we may have seen a spike in the price by now,” Quantum Economics founder & CEO Mati Greenspan said in a note earlier today before the latest price gains.
“Perhaps it’s a sign that we’re still early,” he added.
Meanwhile, reports also emerged on Monday afternoon in Europe that talks between Russian and Ukrainian officials have ended, and that delegates will now return to their respective capitals for further consultations before the second round of talks.
Commenting on the current state of the bitcoin market on Twitter, the popular crypto trader Crypto Ed said that he is “confident” BTC will move to USD 42,000, which he sees as the next natural resistance area.