Bitcoin tops $57,000 first time since 2021 as buyers rush in

Bitcoin breaks $57,000 as big buyers circle

Bitcoin hit a two-year high on Tuesday on signs of large players buying the cryptocurrency, while smaller rival ether topped $3,200 for the first time since 2022.

Bitcoin has rallied more than 10% in two sessions, helped by a Monday disclosure from crypto investor and software firm MicroStrategy that it had recently purchased about 3,000 bitcoins for an outlay of $155 million.

The original and largest cryptocurrency by market value has also been buoyed recently by the approval of bitcoin-owning exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States. On Monday, trading volumes in several of the funds spiked and crypto-linked firms rallied too, in contrast to nervous broader markets.

Bitcoin rose as far as $57,036 in the Asian morning its highest since late 2021. Ether rose as far as $3,275, its highest since April 2022.

"There's only so much supply ... but the demand unleashed by the U.S. spot ETFs seems to be relentless," said Justin d'Anethan, head of partnerships in Asia at Keyrock, a digital asset market maker.