Bitcoin was trading above US$20,000 for the first time in almost three weeks on Wednesday morning trading in Asia. Ether and the rest of the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, excluding stablecoins, also gained after the U.K. parliament voted for crypto to be regulated as financial instruments.
See related article: Top “UK Crypto Hub” proponent Rishi Sunak to become prime minister
Fast facts
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Bitcoin gained 4% to US$20,091 in the 24 hours to 8:15 a.m. in Hong Kong, reaching a three-week high of US$20,348, according to data from CoinMarketCap. Ether jumped 8.8% to US$1,406, after earlier surging as high as US$1,562, or in line with levels before the network Merge in mid-September.
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This comes as the U.K.’s House of Commons, the lower house of Parliament, voted to regulate crypto assets as financial instruments on Tuesday as part of the proposed Financial Services and Markets Bill. The bill now goes to the House of Lords, the upper house, for a vote before becoming law. This comes as Rishi Sunak became the country’s new Prime Minister on Monday, and he has a record of comments supportive of cryptocurrency when he served as finance minister.
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Cardano saw the biggest gains in CoinMarketCap’s top 10, jumping 11.3% to US$0.40, after reaching a more than two-week high overnight of US$0.4142. Solana also saw significant gains, rising 8.9% to US$30.91, also hitting a two-week high earlier of US$32.19.
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BNB, the native token of the BNB Smart Chain – operated by the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance – gained 3.8% to US$285, overtaking the world’s second-largest stablecoin Circle, to sit at fourth place on the list as it’s market cap breached US$45.6 billion.
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“Volatility in Crypto has been extremely low over the past two months compared to the NASDAQ and S&P suggesting that crypto is less reactive to macro pressures,” said Tracey Plowman, chief operating officer of Bamboo 61 Pty Ltd., an Australian company offering micro-investments in cryptocurrency. “As a result, we’re seeing strong buy side pressure in crypto, particularly for Ethereum demonstrating a potential shift in momentum. While this is a welcome reprieve, volatility is still expected in the medium term. “
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U.S. equities were also up on Tuesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.1%, the S&P 500 Index rose 1.6% and the Nasdaq Composite Index added 2.3%.
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