Investing.com - Cryptocurrencies have hit their highest level in over four months in the last week, on a revival of risk appetite in response to signs that the U.S. and Chinese economies may be pulling out of their recent doldrums.
Bitcoin rising 2.7% over the week to $4,215.00 on the Investing.com Index, helped by two strong trading sessions on Friday and Monday as confidence returned to risk assets of all stripes. The last leg up came after a closely-watched measure of Chinese manufacturing activity hit its highest level in eight months.
The overall market value of cryptocurrencies rose to $145 billion at the time of writing, compared to $140 billion a week ago.
On a weekly basis, Ethereum was up 3.5% to $142.14 and XRP inched up 1.2% to $0.31186 while Litecoin rose 1% to $60.693. EOS surged 14% to 4.1985.
The upward movement has come despite a setback to hopes that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission would soon approve the listing of a Bitcoin-themed exchange traded fund.
The SEC said on Friday it will not make a decision until May on whether or not the change the Securities Act to allow two Bitcoin ETFs to operate. This is the third time the SEC has delayed the much-anticipated ruling.
“The Commission finds it appropriate to designate a longer period within which to take action on the proposed rule change so that it has sufficient time to consider the proposed rule change,” the SEC said in a regulatory notice.
Crypto enthusiasts are hoping the rule will be changed, as it is thought that having a Bitcoin security blessed by regulators would increase investor confidence in digital currencies.
Confidence is now harder to shake than it was last year. Bitcoin fell 8% in August when the SEC delayed ruling on an earlier application from the same company, Van Eck. The market also shrugged off news this week that one of the largest South Korean trading platform had been hacked.
An estimated $13 million worth of EOS was stolen from the Bithumb exchange, with the company saying in a statement online that it was due to an “accident involving insiders." It’s the second time the platform has been hacked.
The company said that the funds affected were all its own, and said all customer funds are secure. Still, the platform has suspended all customer withdrawals and deposits to conduct security checks.