Bitcoin tops $39,000 for the first time in nearly 6 weeks, adding $114 billion to the crypto market

Bitcoin surged Sunday evening topping $39,000 for the first time since mid-June as sentiment turned bullish following a recent sell-off. The cryptocurrency was trading at around $38,059.84 at 11:05 p.m. ET, according to CoinDesk data, up nearly 11% from the same time 24-hours prior. Bitcoin had previously hit a 24-hour high of $39,544.29, the highest level since June 16.

Bitcoin’s rally lifted other cryptocurrencies with ether up 5.9% above $2,299.55. The entire cryptocurrency market added over $114 billion in value in 24 hours as of 11:05 p.m. ET, according to data from Coinmarketcap.com. The rally comes after bitcoin recently fell below $30,000 after a global sell-off in stocks, sparking fears that it could plunge even further.

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, Tesla CEO Elon Musk and ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood all recently spoke during a closely watched bitcoin conference called “The B-Word.”

Musk said that Tesla would likely start accepting bitcoin for vehicle purchases again as a greater share of bitcoin mining switches to renewable energy. In May, Tesla suspended vehicle purchases using the cryptocurrency out of concern over the “rapidly increasing use of fossil fuels for bitcoin mining.”

There have been other bullish headlines for bitcoin. E-commerce giant Amazon is looking to add a digital currency and blockchain expert to its payments team, suggesting it could be taking a closer look at bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. An Amazon spokesperson said that the company is “inspired by the innovation happening in the cryptocurrency space and are exploring what this could look like on Amazon.” These bullish moves have also contributed to a so-called “short squeeze,” according to bitcoin mining engineer Brandon Arvanaghi.

Investors who short bitcoin are betting that the price will fall further. But if the price goes higher, these investors look to cut losses and exit their short positions, which helps to push the price even higher.

Bitcoin tops $39,000 for the first time in nearly 6 weeks, adding $114 billion to the crypto market, CNBC, Jul 26