Major cryptocurrencies showed gains on Friday as strong earnings from Amazon boosted confidence in tech stocks, which have largely tracked digital tokens in recent months.
Bitcoin showed an increase of 3%, to $38,150, and Ethereum jumped by 6% to $2,840. Both assets jumped at the beginning of the Asian session today after trading sideways for the past few days. Notably, Ethereum has already bought back the two-day fall, but Bitcoin recouped only a half of its losses.
The major cryptocurrencies have been trapped in a sideways range over the past couple of weeks. Their struggle to break through began as growth stocks and other riskier assets staggered amid fears about the implications of imminent Federal Reserve rate hikes and the trend toward monetary tightening around the world.
At the same time, trading in the range brought some relief to crypto bulls, who see it as a sign that the sharp sell-off that began in November may be mostly over. The Nasdaq 100 index was down by 4.2% on Thursday due to dismal results from Facebook's parent company Meta Platforms Inc.
"Bitcoin continues to consolidate below the $40,000 level," Edward Moya, senior market analyst at Oanda, said in a note on Thursday. "Bitcoin is forming a base and considering the selloff in tech stocks crypto investors should be feeling a bit more optimistic that the bottom is in."
