Bitcoin Rebounds Past $20K, Ether Soars Above $1,100

Bitcoin surged past $20,000 Sunday afternoon to $20,580 a coin, a 16.9% gain off its Saturday lows.

The rally comes just one day after bitcoin (BTC), the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, fell below $20,000, its lowest price since November 2020. As of press time, bitcoin was trading at about $20,383 a coin.

Bitcoin’s price surge reflects traders’ renewed appetite for risk, even as the market continues to digest the fallout surrounding crypto lending giant Celsius and crypto investment firm Three Arrows Capital.

“Willing buyers have been in cash waiting to buy cheap coins,” Jordi Alexander, chief investment officer of Selini Capital, told CoinDesk in a Telegram message. “They have to determine if they will get to buy another 20% lower, or if this is their chance. If they wait too long, they will have to chase higher.”

“The key question is whether the forced selling we have seen is wrapping up, or if there are still distressed sellers,” added Alexander.

Early Saturday, the price of bitcoin plummeted below $20,000 and dipped as low as $17,601 later in the trading day. The drop also put bitcoin below the $19,783 all-time high it notched in December 2017, a level many crypto traders believed bitcoin would not fall below.

Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, enjoyed an even bigger rebound after falling as low as $880 on Saturday. As of press time, ETH was trading at $1,133, a 20% gain over the past 24 hours and a 29% gain off of its Saturday low.

On a year-to-date basis, bitcoin is still down 56%, while Ether has lost 69% of its value.