Bitcoin yesterday reached a record high, rising above US$125,000.
The cryptocurrency reached US$125,689, shooting above its previous August record of about US$124,500.
Bitcoin has enjoyed a strong upward momentum with investors cautious about the US government shutdown.
Photo: Reuters
Gains in US shares have also supported bitcoin’s rise, while investors have looked to safe haven assets while US lawmakers negotiate over funding the federal government, Bloomberg News reported.
US President Donald Trump and his family have also been big promoters of cryptocurrencies and are involved in several crypto endeavors that have inflated his wealth.
Trump’s embrace of digital assets has reversed years of US government skepticism toward the crypto industry under his Democratic predecessor, former US president Joe Biden, with the US House of Representatives passing three landmark cryptocurrency bills in July.
The regulatory changes have seen the value of bitcoin soar.
“With many assets including equities, gold and even collectibles like Pokemon cards hitting all-time highs, it’s no surprise bitcoin is benefiting from the dollar debasement narrative,” Joshua Lim, co-head of markets at crypto prime brokerage firm FalconX, was quoted by Bloomberg News as saying.
US stocks on Friday touched record highs amid another round of big-ticket artificial intelligence deals and partnerships, bucking the prospect of a prolonged shutdown and a gloomy reading on business activity.
Treasuries and the US dollar slid, while gold was on track for a seventh weekly gain, fueled by central bank buying amid falling US interest rates and lingering inflation concerns.
“The shutdown matters this time around,” Standard Chartered PLC digital assets research head Geoff Kendrick said, adding that he expects bitcoin to rise during this period.
He said that bitcoin was “in a different place” during the previous shutdown between 2018 and 2019, when the token traded less in line with traditional risk assets.
In Italy’s storied gold-making hubs, jewelers are reworking their designs to trim gold content as they race to blunt the effect of record prices and appeal to shoppers watching their budgets. Gold prices hit a record high on Thursday, surging near US$5,600 an ounce, more than double a year ago as geopolitical concerns and jitters over trade pushed investors toward the safe-haven asset. The rally is putting undue pressure on small artisans as they face mounting demands from customers, including international brands, to produce cheaper items, from signature pieces to wedding rings, according to interviews with four independent jewelers in Italy’s main
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has talked up the benefits of a weaker yen in a campaign speech, adopting a tone at odds with her finance ministry, which has refused to rule out any options to counter excessive foreign exchange volatility. Takaichi later softened her stance, saying she did not have a preference for the yen’s direction. “People say the weak yen is bad right now, but for export industries, it’s a major opportunity,” Takaichi said on Saturday at a rally for Liberal Democratic Party candidate Daishiro Yamagiwa in Kanagawa Prefecture ahead of a snap election on Sunday. “Whether it’s selling food or
CONCERNS: Tech companies investing in AI businesses that purchase their products have raised questions among investors that they are artificially propping up demand Nvidia Corp chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Saturday said that the company would be participating in OpenAI’s latest funding round, describing it as potentially “the largest investment we’ve ever made.” “We will invest a great deal of money,” Huang told reporters while visiting Taipei. “I believe in OpenAI. The work that they do is incredible. They’re one of the most consequential companies of our time.” Huang did not say exactly how much Nvidia might contribute, but described the investment as “huge.” “Let Sam announce how much he’s going to raise — it’s for him to decide,” Huang said, referring to OpenAI
The global server market is expected to grow 12.8 percent annually this year, with artificial intelligence (AI) servers projected to account for 16.5 percent, driven by continued investment in AI infrastructure by major cloud service providers (CSPs), market researcher TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said yesterday. Global AI server shipments this year are expected to increase 28 percent year-on-year to more than 2.7 million units, driven by sustained demand from CSPs and government sovereign cloud projects, TrendForce analyst Frank Kung (龔明德) told the Taipei Times. Demand for GPU-based AI servers, including Nvidia Corp’s GB and Vera Rubin rack systems, is expected to remain high,
RSS