The world’s most popular digital currency, bitcoin, climbed 8% on Monday to $53,544 per coin, in a sign that the cryptocurrency market is recovering from a broad sell-off in recent days.
Bitcoin’s comeback follows the slide below the $50,000 mark on Friday, its lowest price since early March. The entire cryptocurrency market shed more than $200 billion of value in a single day, after a proposed capital gains tax hike by US President Joe Biden. Washington is expected to raise long-term capital gains tax for the wealthiest Americans to 43.4%, including a surtax.
Bitcoin’s downturn temporarily pulled its share of the cryptocurrency market down to 49.5%, which is the lowest level since August 2018. The digital currency has risen around 80% since the start of the year, as more institutional investors and major firms such as Tesla have jumped into the market. Nevertheless, the token is down roughly 17% from an all-time high of nearly $65,000.
