The cryptocurrency market is rallying after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said he has “stable power” and Wall Street institutions are making progress in their efforts to embrace the technology.
Bitcoin is up 8% and crossed the $30,000 mark for the first time since mid-April. Ethereum’s Ether gained more than 5% to $1,877, the highest since last June, according to CoinGecko.
The market swell follows Powell’s comments that “crypto appears to have resilience as an asset class,” as he testified before lawmakers on Wednesday.
“We view stablecoins as a form of currency,” Powell said.
Powell also said inflation has “a long way to go” before falling to a 2% level, but central bank policy is likely to adjust as inflation declines.
New market entrants
Amid the market surge, powerhouses Fidelity, Charles Schwab, and Citadel Securities entered the digital asset space with noncustodial crypto exchange EDX. BlackRock submitted an application for a Bitcoin-based ETF last Thursday.
BlackRock has applied for the listing of a Bitcoin ETF, prompting other major financial institutions to file their own petitions as well.
Cryptocurrencies in the top ten by market capitalization, excluding stablecoins, are all gaining at least 2%, including an increase of over 7% by Cardano’s ADA and a nearly 5% gain by Solana’s SOL.