A young woman walks past a Bitcoin symbol in the window of a company that offers blockchain application services.
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Cryptocurrencies rose on Tuesday with U.S. equities as tensions between Ukraine and Russia appeared to be easing.
Bitcoin climbed more than 4% to $44,301.94, while ether rose more than 7% to $3,118.63 around 8:13 a.m. ET, according to data from Coin Metrics. Almost the entire crypto market was higher on Tuesday.
The moves are likely a “natural market surge” after it had been “resolutely neutral” for much of the past week, said Clara Medalie, research lead at crypto market data provider Kaiko. She added that both bitcoin and ether have broken through previous resistance and are headed for one-month highs.
“The past month has been bearish for nearly all crypto assets following a prolonged bout of low liquidity and macro-induced volatility,” she said. “It remains to be seen whether this upside break has conviction, with bitcoin still trading nearly $20,000 below previous all time highs.”
Tuesday’s upward moves follow an announcement from Moscow that the Russian Defense Ministry has begun returning some troops to deployment bases after training exercises near the Ukraine border.
Bitcoin traded choppily on Monday as the conflict had appeared to escalate, while stocks ended the day lower. The cryptocurrency has been trading like more traditional risk assets for several months as its investor base becomes increasingly institutionalized.
However, bitcoin has also been long regarded as a safe haven asset that would ideally retain its value in times of instability.