After a sluggish start to the trading day, cryptocurrencies moved higher Thursday, with the No. 1 digital currency pushing back above $10,000.
Bitcoin BTCUSD, -0.87% hit an intraday high of $10,218.01, representing a 5.6% increase on the day, and dragging all major digital currencies with it. It is the first time bitcoin has traded above $10,000 since Feb. 1, and it has now risen 68% since trading below $6,000 on Feb. 6.
Ether was up 1.3% at $935.73, while bitcoin cash was higher by 1.6% at $1,383.90. After Wednesday’s surge, Litecoin added to its gains, rising 4.8% to $223.56, and Ripple was up 1.4% to $1.16, according to research and news site CoinDesk.
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Bitcoin traders were eyeing the psychologically important $10,000 level, with February traditionally representing a bullish month for the cyber unit, rising by at least 15% in 2015, 2016 and, so far, 2018.
With Thursday’s rally, the broader digital-currency market cap stood at $476 billion, following a strong week for the group.
In the bitcoin futures market, the March contract on Cboe Global Markets XBTH8, -2.33% rose $825, or 8.9%, to settle at $10,095, while the February CME Group Inc. BTCG8, -2.82% finished $800, or 8.6% higher, at $10,090.