Bitcoin tops $35,000 to set another record as wild swings resume

Bitcoin jumped to another all-time high on Wednesday, just two days after registering its biggest one-day decline since March.

The world’s largest cryptocurrency advanced as much as 6 per cent to $35,842, surpassing the previous high of $34,792 set on Jan. 3. It plunged as much as 17 per cent on Monday. The digital coin quadrupled in 2020.

A range of factors have been cited for Bitcoin’s ascent, showing how hard it is to pinpoint the proximate cause for the latest bout of volatility. Some traders pointed to a JPMorgan Chase & Co. long-term price forecast of as much as $146,000, while others cited the overall risk-on mood in global financial markets.

More institutions and noted investors, from Paul Tudor Jones to Scott Minerd and Stan Druckenmiller, have either started allocating funds into Bitcoin or have said they’re open to doing so.

While some argue that the cryptocurrency offers a hedge against dollar weakness and inflation risk in a world awash with fiscal and monetary stimulus, others say retail investors and trend-following quant funds are pumping up an unsustainable bubble.