Bitcoin continued its surge Friday morning, rising by nine per cent to $60,196 (US$47,536) — its highest level in 12 days.
The most recent gains, representing a $4,520 jump since closing on Thursday night, comes after U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said he has no intention to ban cryptocurrencies.
When asked in a House Financial Services Committee meeting on Thursday by House Representative Ted Budd (R-N.C) if he was looking at imposing similar restrictions like China to ban or limit cryptocurrency, Powell said “No.”
“(I have) no intention to ban them,” he said.
One week ago, China’s most powerful regulators cracked down cryptocurrencies putting a stop to crypto transactions and mining, which caused a dip in the market. The crackdown came from a number of agencies including the central bank, financial, security and foreign regulators. It represented the first time that Beijing’s financial regulators worked in tandem to crackdown on cryptocurrency.
While Powell seems to want a hands off approach to Bitcoin and most cryptocurrency, he did mention that stablecoins would see a form of regulation moving ford. Stablecoins are a unique versions of crypto that are supported by an reserve asset like gold or the U.S. dollar, so they’re likened to digital or crypto versions of those traditional currencies.
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“They’re to some extent outside the regulatory perimeter, and it’s appropriate that they be regulated,” he said.
The cryptocurrency boom doesn’t just stop at Bitcoin, with both ethereum and Ripple (XRP) enjoying bumps, jumping up by seven per cent and five per cent each.
-with files from Reuters
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