Investing.com - Bitcoin prices rose on Tuesday to hit fresh six-week highs, while bitcoin offshoot Bitcoin Cash rebounded following a slump in the previous session.
On the U.S.-based Bitfinex exchange, Bitcoin hit a high of $4,885.30, the most since September 2 and was last at $4,817.60, up $34.60 or 0.72%.
Bitcoin prices are back above pre-China-ban levels as traders anticipate the next leg higher in the digital currency, which could see it test its all-time high of $4,969. The sharp move higher has seen bitcoin’s market cap surge to $80 billion
The recovery in Bitcoin prices comes less than a month after China clamped down on bitcoin related activity, ordering domestic bitcoin exchanges to cease operations.
Prices shrugged off reports on Tuesday that Russia is planning to block access to websites of exchanges that offer cryptocurrencies.
Russian central bank First Deputy Governor Sergei Shvetsov said authorities cannot give direct and easy access to such “dubious instruments” for retail investors.
He made the remarks at a conference on financial market derivatives.
Shvetsov said the central bank sees rising interest in cryptocurrencies because of high returns from buying into such instruments.
He warned, however, that cryptocurrencies gradually transform into high-yielding assets from being a mean of payment.
The price of bitcoin offshoot Bitcoin Cash was higher. It was last at $324.00, having opened at $311.86.
Bitcoin cash has a total market cap of around $5.4 billion at current prices, making it the fourth most valuable cryptocurrency.
Elsewhere in cryptocurrency trading, Ethereum, the second biggest cryptocurrency by market cap after bitcoin, was up 0.99% to $300.50.