Bitcoin’s price increased Wednesday afternoon following comments by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, but remained short of $50,000. Bitcoin started the day below $47,000 and hasn’t cracked $50,000 since Sunday evening.
While Bitcoin is up from Monday’s low below $46,000, it’s still stuck below where it was Sunday and at points last week when it was over $50,000. After hovering between $46,000 and $52,000 last week, Bitcoin’s price has been between $45,000 and $50,000 so far this week. Powell on Wednesday also repeated concerns about inadequate stablecoin regulation, though said the concerns did not pertain to broader concerns regarding financial stability.
The past week’s ups and downs follow a relatively strong start to the month for Bitcoin, which came close to its all-time high on Wednesday, Dec. 1, when it hit $59,000 before falling back. Its price lately is closer to where it was in early October before a climb that lasted throughout November — when it hit its current all-time high over $68,000 on Nov. 10 — and into December.
Even before Wednesday’s announcement by Powell that the Federal Reserve anticipates multiple rate hikes next year, the volatility follows fresh comments from SEC Chairman Gary Gensler about cryptocurrency regulation, uncertainty over the new omicron variant of the coronavirus, and President Joe Biden signing a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill last month that contains key provisions that could have the tax ramifications for crypto investors.
