Bitcoin passes $31K, poised for best week since March

Bitcoin extended its recent rally Friday, surpassing $31,000 and setting the token up for its best week since mid-March. 

Bitcoin (BTC) soared to $31,230 Friday afternoon in New York. The largest crypto is now up around 20% since June 18, good for its best performing week since March 13, when the asset rallied around 26% on the heels of stablecoin USDC’s depegging. 

Bitcoin has now marked its highest four-hour candle close in over a year. 

Friday’s spike comes after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell testified before Congress on the state of monetary policy. The central bank head told lawmakers the inflation fight “has a long way to go,” adding that rate hikes are likely not through — despite an agreed-upon pause earlier this month. 

The rally comes as investors continue to bet on increased institutional adoption and the potential for a bitcoin spot ETF approval in the coming months. BlackRock, Bitwise and WisdomTree have submitted applications in recent weeks.

“The Great Accumulation of bitcoin has begun,” Cameron Winklevoss, co-founder of exchange Gemini, said in a tweet this week. “Anyone watching the flurry of ETF filings understands the window to purchase pre-IPO bitcoin before ETFs go live and open the floodgates is closing fast.”

Ether (ETH) similarly extended gains on Friday, moving 3% and approaching the $2,000 level. Equities, meanwhile, were in the red at time of publication, The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite indexes lost 0.5% and 0.7%, respectively.

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